Tuesday, July 09, 2013

A Taste of Blackberries...
is the title of a beautiful, heart-rending story for kids. The perimeter of the yard at our house is filled with wild black raspberry bushes. The brambles are vicious and they often leave me scratched and bloody when I mow, but the berries are so sweet and juicy and flavorful that I always watch with great anticipation for the first ripe fruit of the summer. My oldest grandson is a very good berry-picker, and he always enjoys helping me harvest and eat them.
Last summer's extreme heat and drought meant that there were few berries, and those that survived were small and seedy.  This year, however, we have had plentiful rain at just the right times, and the bushes are heavy with fruit.
Yesterday evening after work, I went out and picked berries. It started to rain as I worked, but the overhanging trees kept me nearly dry.  I left many raspberries behind for the birds and deer, but harvested enough to make a splendid batch of jam!

There was rain again today, heavy rain with lightning and thunder.  At its highest, the little stream was even with the top of the bridge, but it had subsided a bit by the time I got home.
The waterfall at the far end of the yard sang as the stream spilled over the stones.

Come sit with me on this summer porch
and watch the rain...

Wednesday, July 03, 2013

More stitches...

 I forgot this pair yesterday...
Secret Fan pattern designed by Adrienne Fong, round 1 of Tour de Sock.  The yarn is a bamboo/wool blend and was not fun to work with, as it was very splitty.

This is the very lovely beginning of the round 4 socks.  Beautiful hand-dyed yarn, Denali sock from Pagewood Farms, beautiful beads from Earthfaire, pattern name is "Walking Through the Maze Gardens."

Yum.

When I told of my international visitors in yesterday's post, I forgot to mention the family from Northern Ireland who graced my shop with their presence on Monday.  Mom and Dad, and three glorious children ages 14, 12, and 9.
The children stood near the counter and talked with Judy and me for quite a while. They told me that there is nothing at all to do in Ireland, because it rains all of the time, except for one or two days every year...
when, of course, they are in school!
: D
They told me that their favorite thing about America so far was root beer floats, and they are drinking as many of them as possible while they are here, as they cannot get them in Ireland.
Root beer floats are among my favorite things, too.
Smart kids!

Tuesday, July 02, 2013

Some Knitting...


Sometimes I can share things that I'm thinking about, and sometimes I can't. :) For this post, I'll just show what I've been knitting.

Sock Madness: Greenhouse Socks, knit with yarn that I won in a drawing in one of my Ravelry groups for finishing the Dutch Fish socks:



Lebowski Socks for Tour de Sock Stage 3:



Yarn and beads for Tour de Sock round 4:


Haley's Roses socks for Michelle:



 A Christmas stocking for my friend's mantel, knit from a Civil-War-era pattern:

Socks for Ms. Nina's granddaughter:


Another wonderful prize package from one of my Ravelry groups. My orange Dutch Fish socks have been very lucky for me!


Not knitting, but a wonderfully stormy sky that I saw on my drive home one evening:


In my little store in a little Amish town, I have had in the last week, visitors from Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, Israel, England, and New Zealand. 
It just amazes me.
I read this quotation on a sign the other day:
If women ran the world, there would be no wars...
just a lot of jealous countries not speaking to one another!