Can This be Saved???

The boys at my favorite cafe in the Industrial Park not only cook up a good meal but they try very hard to make the place nice for the grubby clientele. The majority are truck drivers, mechanics & city workers in muddy/dirty boots & unwashed hands most of the year. The boys decided to hang a couple of big baskets of flowers on either side of the door this year so we can bang out heads on one or the other while coming & going from the cafe. But, they're only pretty as long as someone waters them. While visiting on Friday, I took pity on the Fuchsia basket & took it down. It was covered with buds but cooked to a crisp. The staff said it wasn't their job to water it. It's now sitting on my patio table resting in the shade soaking up H2O. I thought I'd give it a day or two to revive before I give it a good clip & see if it will sprout again. I know, it's a hellova way to get flowers!!

I managed to take a shot of the finished Hopscotch socks!! They are pretty & I sort of wish I'd've bought another couple of balls since they would make very nice short summer socks. But, there is some left over out of each ball that will go nicely with other leftovers so I may get another pair of scrappy shorties. And the heel is turned - I'm actually half way down the foot - on the first of my Goth Kitty short socks. Hopefully it will be finished this weekend & the second sock on the needles by Monday. I can use them NOW.

Heat Wave

Goth Kitty

It's summertime & the living is easy  .  .  .   thank gawd for bagged salads, rotisserie chicken & cold cider!!  We are finally in the middle of a heat wave in my part of the world & I have no intention of cooking, even for myself, every day. The basement is deliciously cool & I intend to keep it that way! I indulged in a big bag of Ancient Grains cereal, blue berries & a gallon of milk along with bags of broccoli & cabbage slaw, mixed greens, snap peas, baby veg & hummus to go with the rotisserie chicken & meat pies. I can cook when it's cold outside!

I thought I'd peruse the BC Liquor website & see what kind of cider they have. I'm not a big drinker but I like a cold one once in a while like everyone else. I also like a shot of sumpin sumpin in my tea occasionally too. And I won't turn my nose up at a tall, frosty cocktail neither.
Have you ever really looked at the government liquor website??? I was quite shocked at some of the offerings. I did expect the imported single malt whiskies to be pricey but $41,000 a bottle??? There's even one in a Lalique bottle & a Russian vodka in enamel. Cognac was anywhere from $250 to $25,000 a bottle. Who drinks this stuff???
Obviously there must be a market - can you see it all now??? Lunching ladies talk about Father's Day the week after - " Well daaaarling, I bought Himself a 22k gold & jade money clip while  the children picked up a 50 year old bottle of single malt from some backwater island in Scotland for $25,000".

Hopscotch 

On the knitting front - finished my Hopscotch Socks at last. I took pity on them, brought them in from the car & just did it. I just wasn't working on them at all. The Ex's last two eye appointments were so short, I barely got the ticket purchased!!!
I've cast-on a pair of short socks in Goth Kitty. I loved that colorway so much I bought FOUR balls.
And I've finally figured out the gauge for the cowled vest I'm making for my niece - I hate it but I'm knitting worsted yarn on a 3.25 mm needle. It's a little hard on the hands to knit so firmly but I'm making the small size so it won't be too long of a knit over all. I will just have to knit it outside since the Briggs & Little yarn throws 'bits' into the air as I work with it & it makes me wheeze.

Summer Daze

Here I am & suddenly it's JUNE!! I'm getting older by the minute. Not a helluva lot going on in my life these days except bookkeeping work that I thought I was leaving behind. But, I promised myself I would work until I had my credit card balance paid off & it's rapidly reducing - I really look forward to that monthly statement these days!!!

I was taken out for a Chinese dinner yesterday by a friend I don't see very often. He was actually on his way to Costa Rica for 10 days - leaving on the Red Eye - his first trip out of North America!!! He was so excited. He's a single dad who stayed home & raised his kid until she left home last fall so everyone's been pushing him to get out & see the sights - and meet some nice women too - before he gets too old. He promised pictures!

Meanwhile, back at the Basement - I'm finding it hard to get excited about plants in pots this year. I found it hard last year too. Maybe it's time to shift most of the pots into the recycling, put up a curtain or two & spend the summer with one or two glorious baskets of Succulents & a wind chime instead. The back yard got overrun with that damn Morning Glory last year & I was too short of breath to hack it back. It came back with a vengeance this year in the middle of allergy season & I was short of breath when I went outside. It's been reduced by a couple of hot days & a lot of yanking but I don't want to water out there for fear of helping it come back once more. I do miss the ferns though .   .   .   .

Pabaigh has been frogged. It's just not normal to knit worsted yarn on a 3mm needle!! It's hard on
the hands & wrists!! But, knitting on the 5mm needle that I'd normally use made it 5 sizes too big. And it's already designed to have 12 inches of ease. My biggest problem is getting gauge in the round - I tend to relax, so it will grow - but I don't like working with the smaller needle. I may have to do some math & recalculate everything in MY gauge. It's a pretty simple design so that may be what I do in the end .  .  .  .   One more try on the smaller needles though - I'll knit a big swatch in the round & see how I feel.