Jim's Garden and my fountain

Here are my garden pictures, as promised.
This is from one of the packages labeled Old Fashioned Mix. Jim loves the mixes, but only if they are cheap.

This is from one of my packets of Poppies. I love the poppies.

The first thing I saw on my way into Clifford was these giant single hollyhocks at the Clifford Post Office. Shelia is threatening to pull them out as she doesn't like Hollyhocks. These are taller than I have ever seen.

My new little fountain bubbler. The birds love it and try to get under the little bit of water for a bath.

Local color.

A more distant picture of the fountain in the hope that I could catch some birds attempting to bathe. No such luck. They just wait until I go away.
T
This is my impressive milkweed corner of the garden. So far we have only seen that one Monarch you saw when you were here. They are really scarce this year.

The garden is coming along nicely. These pictures were taken last week on Friday after I got home, but I have been saving them for now. Jim has been keeping an eye on the garden weeds, except around my onions. I have Walla-wallas and Sweet Spanish growing nicely, and now they are weeded too. No pictures of those though.
Love,
Nancy

Another trip to Minneapolis

As Nancy left, I was arriving.


I drove for three days with a recalcitrant cat. Actually, he was pretty well behaved considering his tendency to "talk" non-stop. He slept a good deal of the time, didn't get sick either. He never got the hang of his harness - he slithered along the ground as if he had a huge weight on his back, therefore I never got to take him "for a walk." So except for the time he crawled into the tiny space between a bed and the motel wall and I had to drrraaaaggg him out, it went pretty well.

A visit to Minneapolis

Well I have returned from my Minneapolis visit, but my sister Mary and the famous FattyKitty are there now. I took a few pictures of FK and Mom so here they are.

FK is adjusting slowly to life at 4425. He thinks other cats have been there and had to sniff everything very carefully before relaxing. However by the time I left he seemed to be calming down, although he was still rather suspicious of Mary. He seemed to think she might grab him by the scruff of his neck and force him into a tiny cage and make him travel in a noisy metal machine.

I don't know where he gets these ideas.

You can learn more at his blog, The Kitty Literary.

Enjoy the pictures. Doesn't Mom look cute?

Love,

Nancy

Star Washcloth in Progress

Nancy’s Version of the Star Washcloth

CO 8, begin rounds on 4 d.p. needles
Purl around putting 2 stitches on each of 4 d.p. needles
Turn and K back adding 1 st. in the center of each row, (12 st.)
K12
Make 1 st. at each corner (M1, K3,) around (16 st.)
Add 1 st. at center of each row (K2, M1, K2) (20 st.)
M1, K5 around (24 st.)
M1, K3, around (32 st.)
K4, M1, K4 around. (36 st.)
K3, M1, K3, M1, K3 four times (44 st.)
M1, K11 four times, (48 st.)
K48
M1, K6 around (56 st.)
K56
M1, K7 around end M1, (65 st.)
K 65 putting a marker every 13 sts.
K65
K13 turn, begin star arm
Star Arm
1. S1, P5, P2tog, P5, turn
2. K12, turn
3. S1, P4, P2tog, P5, turn
4. K 11, turn
5. S1, P4, P2tog, P4, turn
6. K10 , turn
7. S1,P3, P2tog, P4, turn
8. K9
9. S1, P1, P2tog, P1, P2tog, P2 turn
10. K7
11. S1, P2tog, P1, P2tog, P1, turn
12. K5,
13. P5
14. Bind Off 5
Attach new yarn and beginning at rnd. 17 repeat through rows 1 – 14, four more times.
Weave in loose threads and wash your face!

These arms are not flat. If you figure out a flat one let me know.
I tried using decrease one only each purl row, it didn’t work.
I tried doing the K13 of round 17 two more times and that made it worse.
I am thinking of starting the decrease in round 17 …
When you decrease one more st. in row 13, (S1, P1, P2tog, P1, and then turn and BO 4), it makes a pointier star. Still not flat though.

Arriving at a solution

How much knitting stuff should I bring? I don't know which tools I'll need over four whole months. I really don't want to buy something I already have...

Aha! I'll just roll up the whole thing and bring it along! Now, on to the next decision - how many books should I bring? Hmmmmmmm....

Speaking of knitted Stars

So as I was rereading my comment on your star beadspread post I thought of this easy star to knit. This is Emma's washcloth which her Aunt Jenny knitted for her.Emma accidentaly left it here last week. I have to return it tomorrow so I took some pictures today and went down to the Needlework Unlimited to get some chenille yarn.

I was only going to get one. Ahem. However the colors were so bright and pretty I couldn't get just one. Sigh. However I still had my gift certificate from Christmas so I used it. I had to pay about 1.20 more, so I don't feel bad about it.

YAY.

Now I sure wish I had brought my double pointed needles with me when I came down. There is no way I can start the middle of one of these on a circular needle. Drat.

Love,

Nancy

Speaking of Seldom Scene...

as I was driving home from Minneapolis, I planned to stop in at Butte, America, the Center of the Universe, as my librarian friends there like to say.  While driving, I found a public radio station that was broadcasting live from the National Folk Festival that was being held in none other than Butte.

 

And who was playing?  None other than Seldom Scene.  I pulled into Butte and drove immediately up the hill.  By this time, Shemekia Copeland was playing.  I heard her in my car, and looked out the window, and saw her playing on the stage under the old mine headframe - it was incredible.  Then I looked up my friends, Stef, 

 and Lee, 

 

and we hung out and had a great time.  I was able to see part of Seldom Scene's evening show, too.

And tonight, in Whitefish, I went to see them again.  This show I was able to be up close and really see the musicians.  Unfortunately, I found out that I had dead batteries in my camera just as we were walking in to the O'Shaunnessy Center, so, no pictures.  But the show was great.  The only thing lacking was that Jim wasn't there to see one of his favorite bands...but I bought him a T-shirt.

Look! Crocheted stars...

I know I shouldn't be showing you something else to do, but don't you think this is a neat coverlet?

It's oodles of crocheted stars; you can read more about in on Berroco's page.


It's a free pattern. Now, would it get super boring crocheting that many stars? Or could it be the kind of stuff you knit crochet while you're watching TV or waiting for a doctor or something?

Our new iron railings

Wow! Our new 'ornamental iron' railings from Boe Ornamental Iron.

I think they look great, don't you?

Back in the City again

The double doorway to A Wild Rumpus. Emma took the larger one. Quite a crowd waiting for the store to open. We saw the ferret running around on the floor while we waited.

This cat was just inside the door waiting to greet all the customers.

This cat was playing on the chair and the next one was contemplating something in the air above her.

There were two hens, just barely grown up, who had the run of the place. And they did run. It was hard to get a still picture of them.

And an aquarium where the medicine cabinet would be in a normal bathroom.

And of course there were books! On Wednesday the 9th I drove down to the cities to take over from Mary at the parents house. This time I had a passenger. My great neice Emma Wold came with me on the trip. We were taking her to visit her two aunts, Joanna and Jenny. She got to stay overnight with us in the room we call Tree's room. Then on Thursday she got to do four fascinating things.

First (and the most fun) we got to go to A Wild Rumpus Bookstore in the Linden Hills area of Minneapolis. What a GREAT store it is too.

I bought Emma her copy of The Secret Garden with illustrations by Graham Rust. Here is a link to murals he painted. I like those even better than the Tasha Tudor ones in my book. I wonder if I can justify two copies of the book?

Second, Emma got to exercise with Great Grandma Maggie, Mary and Nancy. She is a fiend for exercise!

Third, Emma got to come with us to Mom's wonderful Wound Clinic. We went just as it started to rain but by the time we got there it was POURING! Emma got to wait in the waiting room with her books for a loooong time till that was over.

Fourth, she had her first lesson in Hand and Foot. She took to it right away. We will have to watch out for her later on when we get together again to play cards.

Then Jenny came and picked her up and now our house is quiet and Emmaless. The exercises are really not as much fun without her.

Thanks for the visit Emma. I hope Ryan had fun 'reading' you. Enjoy the pictures.

Love,

Nancy

It's July!

Hi there Mary,
July means I am on the couch watching the Tour de France. This year I am doing it with my computer on my lap. Something to do during the endless ads. This is the first day of the three weeks. I will have a little problem during the time I am in Minneapolis. I might have to leave the TV for Dad. Or of course I could get up early and watch the 7 a.m. show.
That sounds hard for me. I am thinking about buying a new TV for upstairs that I can attach to the cable and watch it up there.

It will work out one way or another.
Love,
Nancy

A picture of a quilt

I've been meaning to post this picture of Christy in the living room at the farm, and especially the quilt on the wall behind her. I adore the colors on it - it's a one-block wonder quilt, isn't it?

Beating the heat, and Jim's birthday (again)

Do ya know that big red plastic bowl at Mom's and Dad's? Well, right now it's filled with water, and ice cubes, and my feet. When I get tired of cold feet, I take them out and put them on the towel I have placed next to the bowl. Ahhhhh. I am pretty happy with my feet in ice water. And I won at Hand and Foot tonight. I mentioned that I might even be learning some strategy, but Dad pooh-poohed that. Nobody ever wins for any other reason than luck. Except when he wins.

Of course, I did have six red threes in the third hand.

At any rate, it is that time of year in which we celebrate Jim*:

He looks celebrated, doesn't he? I think I like his birthday card even more this year, than last year. Putting a picture of it on the webpage would not do it justice, however. I hope he opened it in the Post Office heh heh.
Happy Birthday, Jim!

*picture taken by Jeni in 2006