Category: Uncategorized

Next week I will be taking sometime off. My family and I need a break from blogging and from work in general. I will resume the blog when and if I can after our staycation.

Today we are under an extreme heat advisory in San Antonio, Texas. I ran an errand to return a package, and now am at home; relaxing with our pets. It’s days like this I feel blessed to have a home. The hot weather means that the dogs and I will be spending a lot of time indoors, where the air conditioning is.

Because there are seven of us, counting all the pets, I like to change the air filter regularly. We also have a few surface projects that I’d like to have tended to about this time of year. Just a few things that we noticed over the past couple of years, but we should be okay until they can be fixed.

I wonder if I should even bother trying to knit or crochet today. I’m not much feeling woolly-inspired, and miss the days when there was never any such problem as “not feeling woolly-inspired.” I guess we all eventually need to slow down for a little and (in the words of the song) “just breathe.”

It reminds me of the old quip, “what do knitters do for fun?” My rebuttal was always “what anyone else does for fun; anything they like.”

On days like this it’s just hard for me to like anything that involves heatstroke and hay fever, so I am staying home today; maybe, weather permitting, I will go to knit with the Prayer Shawl Ministry at church tomorrow. Maybe, I will stay home and play with my fur-babies all day.

The garden has started regrowing. We are arguing less. Things are looking up. Thank goodness!

I’m working on several projects right now; both knitting and crochet. I also invested in a handheld sewing machine to help with the hemming of our pants and jeans.

I love my life with Erick and the pets! I am hopeful that we are allowed to stay in our home for another year. We like it here, and we do our best to stay on the good side of our neighborhood and neighbors.

Sometimes the pressure and stress of that responsibility gets difficult but Erick and I have a good relationship and we support each other through our hardships.

June Bug, Sasha, and the other pets are doing well. They still have their romps through the home now and again, and the dogs and our tortoise going on walks in their seasons.

Ned got to feel the rain yesterday. He is safe and dry in his enclosure again. He has a safe place to live, and we care for him as best we can.

We have some great people here that help us in the community; mostly the staff of the apartment complex, but they are very helpful when asked to be. Erick and I have lived here so long we’re not even sure how long it’s been anymore. Time flies when you’re having fun.

I’m sad to announce that the garden has failed due to overwatering and pests. Between God and me, my garden got so much love that we smothered it. But, as Erick says, “we live, learn, and move on.”

Right now, I am in the club room watching cooking shows and crocheting on my aunt’s blanket.

I’m nearing the middle of the project, and suffering midway blues! I’m not sure what colors to work in after I finish the yarn I am using.

What I want to do is to fade into white or cream from the pinks I currently have, and then border it in a brighter shade of cream or white. That way the effect will be colorful but tasteful and subtle.

I’m starting the garden over again. This time I’m taking what I learned and making sure that I don’t repeat the same mistakes.

As May draws to a close, I am happy to start a new hobby. I have been wanting to take up gardening for years! And we have a perfect little patch of sunshine for that! So, I’m inclined to disagree but only slightly with my beloved. I’m going to suggest you live, learn, and grow.

The lettuce is coming in beautifully, and the garlic has forked! Ned is patiently waiting for his summer salad; though, his salad doesn’t include the garlic. I have been keeping the dogs away from the sprouting garlic too.

I started the garlic as a gift for a friend in Erick’s family. It is doing very well! Hopefully she’ll be pleased with it!

I’m very pleased with the results of the potting soil mix I bought from our local grocery store. I am going to try another homemade potting mix and see if I can’t get pears to sprout.

Every day he’s out wandering the terrarium, I bring him fresh water. I think he’s been subsisting on the sprouts that shout up from the soil I laid down for him.

Money is tight for us right now; why I don’t quite know. The markets are “bullish”— I think is the term, if I remember nineth grade economics correctly. But that was decades ago, and I don’t know the current statistics. All I know is that Erick, the pets, and I keep on putting one foot in front of the other; and pass our lives one blessed day at a time.

Besides harvesting seeds from your produce that you buy from the grocery store, you can save lettuce and carrot ends, and even plant whole potatoes to keep yourself in good stead in the months to come.

Honeys are in season, so if you’re looking for a natural sweetener from local sources; honey might be a good source of sweetness—however if you’re drinking coffee, and want a sugary hit ask your barista what’s available in the area, or if your on a specific diet bring your own; most courteous coffee shops will let you pick from any sweetener in the shop, including your own. You’re just prohibited from distributing your sweetener without the proper licensure.

The protocol in tea houses is similar to coffee shops, and restaurants; expect mind your p’ and q’s, sometimes public places have eyes and ears that aren’t so friendly. But if you leave a good impression, many people will forgive you your strangeness.

And if that fails, make yourself an asset. That way if you come back you stand a better chance of being welcomed. And it never hurts to have a crocheted or knitted something to pass to the host/hostess for the trouble, if you prove troublesome. Though in the higher end communities a hospitable tip is more welcome than bartering wears.