Welcome Summer

I walk through my little garden everyday. And about two weeks ago, I noticed little green spheres attached to my tomato plants. Guess what?!?! They are tomatoes!



The red cherry tomato plant was the first to put on fruit. This one is the biggest. I'm counting on him to turn red. For years I've been growing tomatoes in pots and never got fruit. I probably forgot to water them or they didn't have big enough pots. So this year, I just want 1 red tomato and I'll be thrilled.



Here's the Super Sweet 100's. The plant is TALL. I read that some people get 300-600 fruit per plant from these. Seriously, I just want 1 from each plant. There's also a Mama Mia plant for sauce. OK, I amend my hopes... I want 1 red tomato from the cherry plants and 1 batch of sauce from the Mama Mia. That would just be awesome!



Look how big the plants are getting! I had to upgrade the tomato cages.




The lemons are growing from the tiny buds...



to actual fruit.



The Baby oranges are growing.



Although lots of the persimmons have fallen off the tree, there are still about 20 hanging on. I hope they make it until harvest.

This explosion of growth lately can be attributed to one thing.



Summer has arrived. Thank goodness for AC.



Even my gorgeous hydrangeas are wilting a little in the heat. Once they get a drink in the morning, they'll be just fine.

A Pair of FO's

I've been remiss in showing you my knitting progress. There have been lots of opportunities to knit lately. And deadlines (such as births) have passed. So I can show you a couple of things...



Pattern: Jenny Wren Socks
Yarn: Noro Kureyon Sock S188 from The Loopy Ewe
Needles: KP 2.5mm, magic loop
Date Started: 1/1/09
Date Finished: 5/29/09
Mods: None. But I sure am glad these blocked out nicely. And the yarn really softened up.

And yes, I finally bought sock blockers. I heart them.

Here's a close up of the cable details



Also, Driesy got a sweater. Even though it's going to get warm here in the next week or two. It's still cool at night. And no nephew of mine will be without a handknit sweater to keep him toasty!



Pattern: Baby Yours by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee from Blue Moon Fiber Arts
Yarn: Koigu KPPM P418 from Purl Soho in NYC
Needles: KP 3.5mm
Date Started: 4/12/09
Date Finished: 6/1/09
Mods: None. But I wish this wasn't seemed. What a pain!



What I really love is the button. Cute but matching the cable motif. Now I only need a pic of Dries in it. Ahem, Sally!

The Garden, She's a Growin'

Remember how the garden looked just 3 weeks ago?



Well, check it out...



Yup... There might even be tomatoes this year.



I'm promised by the woman at the nursery that these will become these...



Patience. She said it'll be a year before they are ready. And here I thought they had all died.

In the meantime, the jasmine blooms



as do the roses



And, finally, the hydrangea



Patience. Not the best of my virtues.

Boys and Babies

What is it about men holding a baby that just melts my heart?

This is Dries meeting his Grandpa. (my dad)



Here's Dries with his Dad.



Funny about love at first sight.

Andries Willem

My sister gave birth to her son, Andries Willem, via C-section at 12:30 this morning. We're calling him Dries which is Dutch and rhymes with peace. He was 9lbs. 4oz., 21 in., and a FULL head of hair. (Just like when his mom was born.) He's really cute. And so far, he seems skeptical of me which is a good sign.



Mom, Dad, and Baby Dries



Aunt Nell is very silly!



That's some hair!

Happy Birthday, Dries! We're so happy to meet you.

The Office

I have a glorious week off from work. I was supposed to go to my 10 year college reunion. But most of my closest friends decided not to or they just had a baby. So the prospect of flying cross country, renting a car, and not seeing all the people I really wanted to made the trip not so feasible. However, I had already asked for the time of from work. A week that will now be devoted to home improvement. WooHoo!!! You know sometimes there are projects that linger because you want to be sure you have a couple days in a row to work on them. And a day after to recover. I'm taking full advantage.

First up... Finish painting my office. I had the color up on the walls for a few weeks. But I needed to do the trim and the ceiling.

Before...



After...



The terrible curtains with the brass rods are gone. And there's color!!!



Clearly, I need a bigger bookcase. Especially since most of my books are still in boxes in the garage! Maybe I should destash books. Hmmm....



This empty corner is just begging for a big comfy knitting chair. It's going to be a couple more paychecks before I can make it happen though.

I love the color. It's Halcyon Green from Sherwin Williams. Sometimes it looks more blue. Sometimes it looks more green. But it always reminds me of beach glass.

Notice I didn't show you the closet. It's a mess. But my whole stash is in there. I'm just trying to figure out the best way to organize it. So for now, no closet shots.

And it wouldn't be home improvement without some sort of injury.



This is Nell's shin vs. the ladder. Proof that once again I am very clumsy and very pale.

Where I've Been

About a month and a half seems to be the pace at which I can handle blogging these days. The house/garden/snail war is stealing my knitting and blogging mojo. I'm still here. Just not as tied to the computer as I used to be which is both good and bad. Anyway, here's some pictures from the last month and a half of so. Enjoy...

In February, there was a book signing and Stitches... Both of which I forgot to take my camera to. Duh!



Me and the fabulous Lauren Groff.



Finger puppets from Malabrigo



Silk Lace from Stitches- Someday I will knit lace...



Miss Babs Sock Yarn in the color Nell. Tapmouse was Nice enough to make sure I got some!



A new KA needle set. They have a swivel join!

In March, we moved. You've seen all that. And I'm trying to repress memories of said chaos.

In April, my little sister came out for my big sister's baby shower.



Big Sis with the tattoo onesie



Little Sis looks on as Big Sis opens gifts



There were cupcakes. Yum!



Then off to Napa to taste some wine. (Not Big Sis, of course!)

That's about it. We ordered furniture. But until it's ready in July, I leave you with a picture of our family room.



They are surprisingly comfortable!