August in May

After 3 lovely hot days reminiscent of late August, the basement has warmed up noticeably & the cold cement floors feel divine underfoot. Even the mouse in my closet is enjoying the warm days!! And speaking of that mouse, after buying something called 'Rat & Mouse killer' last month, I have discovered that I need a 'feeding device' to dispense the stuff. Stupid me just tucked the little plastic bags along the route the mouse likes to take & wondered why the damned mouse was still alive. I have never intentionally killed a mouse in my life so I guess I can be forgiven one mistake!! Watch out Mouse, I have now opened the bags & put the contents into 'feeding' stations. Your days are numbered .   .   .   .

I'm down to three projects & MY tax return!! Hopefully, they will all be finished by the end of the month & I can spin the summer away on my patio. I have several knitting projects I want to tackle as well - maybe even finish up one I started for myself last year. My poor old house sweater needs to be trashed - it's 17 years old & ratty in the current incarnation. Some is cat damage & some is just plain old age - I bought this yarn in the 70s & it's been knit & reknit at least 3 times since then.


The other night, in a fit of midnight on-line shopping, I bought 10 balls of RED Briggs & Little "Tuffy" & 5 balls of BLUE JEANS at 40% off. I should freeze my credit card!!! But, it was a good deal, will wash & wear very well & knit up quickly. I confess to craving some RED Briggs & Little for ages & bought a pattern months ago. The Blue Jeans will be knit into a vest with a cowl for the Bee Queen as a layering piece. She actually looks her best in Jewel colors but keeps buying the GREENS her mother loved. I thought the blue cowled vest would ease her gently into better color.

The Bee Queen (my niece) is dividing her hives up the Valley & says she's imported some new California queen bees to expand her brood. With the shortage of bees around the world, she's really excited about increasing her hives. She originally thought it would be fun to have a hive or two out in the field to make sure her fruit trees got pollinated. Then she discovered her first home grown honey & was smitten! She took the Bee course & is now raising her own bees. All of hers survived the winter & she's now creating new hives from the old. She tells me there's far more money in growing Bee Hives than in honey & thinks this will be a great retirement income project. Okay kid. She's talking about retiring early when she has her 25 years in, selling the farm to developers & buying a Hippy Dippy place on one of the Gulf Islands to grow chickens & bees & learn how to spin. She plans on taking her old aunty with her. I told her it was fine with me as long as I have an indoor toilet.