My New Grocery Getter

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Grocerygetter

a 1961 Columbia replete with new wheels and white wall tires… now to find a basket… perfect for hopping over to the HEB for some soy milk and Fancy Feast.
Gg2
the perfect ride to my city council meetings, don’t you think?
Shawl

My Huge Triangle Shawl. I do love it, it’s so soft but I think I would probably add a stitch every other row to make it a more gradual deeper triangle. I finished it a while ago, but just got around to taking a pic.


Curious about the squirrel? He just left and we quickly covered the hole… or more like DH did. I was out back drinking coffee a couple days ago and a squirrel traveled the whole length of the rain gutter to the corner of the roof and stared at me for like 10 minutes….I hope he finds a nice new home.

The dogs so want to be in these days…  both the heat and the mean-spirited mockingbird make inside a much happier place to be. The damn bird keeps swooping on them, seems late to be protecting a nest…may just be an asshole. 

Tuesday I made a mild dish soap spray to combat the darn stink bugs on my tomatoes… I spritzed them up and I swear it’s been two days since I’ve had to flick one of those little buggers off. I like this… instead of killing the bugs or poisoning my tomatoes I just made them taste yucky to them. 


Fire Ants & Pie

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Red shoes
Yep, every summer My feet and legs are smothered in bug bites… I'm just one of those unfortunate souls whom bugs love to sting, bite and zap. So, at the ripe age of 43 my legs look like a 12-year-olds at summer camp. I do however love my new red shoes… the thought here is they're so cute who'll notice my itchy red bumps. I seriously have to keep Benadryl or Arnica gel in my makeup bag at all times from Memorial day until Thanksgiving. This morning I was cursing as I was fighting stink bugs and fire ants for my tomatoes. If you don't have fire ants where you live, consider yourself lucky. They are the wolverines of the insect world… je déteste, really. My husband kindly pointed out the pink wellies sitting right at the back door and suggested I wear them when I'm gardening…. harumphhh. I did however manage to pick a whole mess of toms and some basil. I brought them to work and prepared a lovely Insalata Caprice.

Have I mentioned lately that I love my job? Well I do. I got back from an appointment this afternoon to not just one but at least 8 pies from my favorite pie guy, Bud Royer of the Famous Royers Round Top Cafe 

The list of pies:

Strawberry Rhubarb w/ granola topping

Cherry

Apple Crumble

Coconut Lemon Chess Pie

Buttermilk

Pecan

Chocolate Chip

Butterscotch chip

On the needles… Twist STILL and a whole mess of dishcloths, it's a new binge. I am seriously thinking of frogging Twist and using the lovely olive yarn for February Lady Sweater Am I crazy? I've knit the back, the left front and am half way finished with the left front. Yep, crazy.

As soon as I find a few quiet hours or a perfect rainy day I will be printing up a storm. I have set up my new etsy shop, only to let it sit empty…tsk, tsk. 

Picture 5


whack-a mole

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As I sit here,I hear the scratching of little claws in the wall behind my desk, it is a squirrel. He has taken up  residence in our wall and often goes out foraging for food and returns home through a hole where the AC tubes and wires enter the attic. Aha, we thought it would be so easy now…we'll close it up while he's out. Well, turns out it's not so easy to catch him because he just scurries up to his hole when he sees you and he just peeks his head out at us, like he's in a cuckoo clock or a game of whack-a mole. I often picture DH up there quickly nailing up boards all criss cross like a la Wiley Coyote. Roscoe is napping at my feet, right next to the wall… couldn't care less about the weird noise coming from the wall.

Today I am home sick from work… not much energy so I plan to knit until I am hungry.

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yeah, finally the eggplants are growing.

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Tomatoes to share with my neighbor… you should see the beets he brought me.

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I've made some changes in the laundry room. Fabric softener sheets were clogging up my dryer lint screen and the machine is only 2.5 years old! I have replaced the sheets with a glug or two of white vinegar poured right into the fabric softener cup in my washing machine. It really does leave my clothes softer, static and residue free. I'm hoping to put up a clothesline, but need to be mindful of it being away from my mischievous dogs…maybe I'll do a temporary test to see if they cannot help themselves or not. The 365 powdered detergent from Whole Foods is not really that much more expensive than the other well- known brand I was using, and I like the citrusy smell. The EC-OVER delicate wash is super, and I do a lot of hand washing. The Bac-Out works well but I am over the moon about the Earth Friendly Products Oxo-Brite. I had a chocolate stain on a new favorite embroidered blouse. I soaked it while I was at work….came home and it was sparkly white again. I am amazed by this product.

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and in the kitchen… I've replaced both the dishwasher detergent and my dish washing soap with eco-friendly products…and they both smell so good. Scent is a big deal in my world. The Bon Ami is a perfect sink scrub and is perfect on my stainless cookware. I've stocked up on this because I have found myself reaching for it every day. The Method all purpose cleaner for the counter tops…of course. I have knit a whole drawer full of dishcloths (no more sponges) and have a basket full of pretty dish towels. Sometimes I still need to reach for a paper towel, so I switched to recycled.

This is not meant to be preachy but simply to illustrate how just sneak in a few small changes with some of the products I've tried. All this is not new… eco-friendly products have been around for a very long time, they've just come along way. As a So Cal teen (I graduated in 1983), I remember scrubbing up with Dr. Bronners and smearing Rachel Perry Cantaloupe Lip Lover lipgloss on my lips. DH loves his peppermint Dr. Bronner's.