The Sisyphus Sleeve

We've all been there. Whether it's a knitted item or a task  at the office, at some point, we've all felt like Sisyphus.
You put in time and effort, sometimes taking extra care to avoid making one mistake, only to realize you've made another, more serious one. It's the kind of mistake that affects the physical structure of the item or completely louses up the color work. Wendy and Rosemary were there recently with the main body of their sweaters. I completely agree with the advice from Wendy's friend Beth on how to deal with knitting mistakes.

I mentioned before that I had to rip back because I was doing my decreases wrong. If I had ignored that one, the sleeve would've been the wrong size and shape. Once I finished the second sleeve, I realized I was not finished pushing this boulder up the hill; the whales on both sleeves were facing the same direction. I thought about it carefully. Did I really need to rip back my finished sleeve to knit the whale facing the other direction? Yes, it would have bothered me every time I looked at it. I felt much better after I re-did it, especially since it didn't take very long.

The only kind of frogging I like

The weekend before last, we saw this beauty trying to look inconspicuous next to the hot tub. It was about 4.5 inches long. I knew it was a leopard frog, but really nothing beyond that. I found out that there are fourteen species of leopard frog. I believe this is a Southern Leopard frog, Rana sphenocephala. 

This past weekend, I spotted this little guy in the tool shed when I went to get the rake to turn the compost pile. I have no guesses as to what kind he might be. He was different than the other frogs and toads I've sen recently, so I decided to take his  picture. I went back in the house for my camera, mentioning to Vova what I'd found. On my way out the door, I smiled somewhat sheepishly and said, "Turning into an eff-ing naturalist, aren't I?" He laughed and agreed.


While turning the compost pile, I found four more:

 Even if they weren't covered in dirt, I would have no idea what kind they are. I'll try to stick to this kind of frogging.

You Can't Keep a Good Knitter Down

First off, a short address to the gnomes that stole my pattern:  ha ha, joke's on you. That was my working copy you took. The original is tucked away somewhere safe. Not only that, I made a pdf of it when I first got it. Before you go trashing my laptop, I have a finished sleeve I can use as a model. I don't know what the turquoise slime is that you drooled on it, but it will wash out. The fact that I kept decreasing by two stitches every other row instead of one, which resulted in ripping back a few rows, is entirely the effect of sleep deprivation.

Next, not much to show on the sleeve, so I will share the initial labors of my evening. I harvested herbs tonight.

My sweet basil has almost completely gone to seed, so I harvested those, too. An acquaintance recently told me that she'd heard there was a fungus attacking commercially grown basil, so it would be a good idea to stockpile my homegrown supply.

The Forever Green containers we picked up at Tuesday Morning work really well for keeping fresh herbs. Ours are more opaque than the ones featured on the linked site.

Hopefully, I can return my pet to the outdoors. She was hanging out in her lemon balm condo when I rudely pruned it, bringing her along for the ride.

Show Us Your Gams!

I'm really pleased with the amount of progress I made on my Belle Epoque socks this week. The legs still aren't quite long, though. I know I could ignore the recommended length in the pattern, but that would not make them the length I want them.

Besides, it's a pretty colorway that lends itself to this pattern. It's Plymouth Sockotta in Navajo Sky. The little mock cables remind me hard candies wrapped in cellophane.

I'm noticing a trend with these last few pairs of socks -- they all remind me of food. With this pair, it's the combination of the colors and the pattern. With the previous ones, it was the yarn. Gillian's socks reminded me of Fruity Pebbles. Kes' socks made me think of brown rice. There must be some positive association with these things buried in my subconscious. That's as far as I'll go with the amateur psychology.

The candies will go on hold for a little while because I can go back to finishing Vova's sweater. I ordered a little more yarn from Nordic Mart, which arrived yesterday. This yarn is very soft, but it does not remind me of something to eat. On the other hand, it's almost therapeutic to work with it.

How Does Your Garden Grow?

I like to learn and stay familiar with a variety of techniques. The last two pair of socks I made used the European method with four DPNs and one working needle. I'm using the two-at-a-time method for the current pair. One of the advantages to this method is being able to apply new techniques to both socks at the same time.

One of the disadvantages is that it makes progress seem slower. I'm already saying to myself, "Y'know, Self, if this were one sock, I'd be very close to finishing the leg by now." In response, myself points out that I'll be turning both heels at the same time, which means my favorite part will be doubled, and the complete pair will be finished at the end of my efforts. She's right, of course.

So, I try to keep in mind that I've already knitted nearly six inches of leg while at the same time trying not to concentrate on the fact that I still have to knit a little more than that same amount before the legs are finished.

In other news, the Great Turtle Watch of 2010 yielded some unexpected results. All summer long, the spot where the mother box turtle buried her eggs remained more or less unchanged. I weeded carefully around its neighboring cilantro plant. The garden grew like gangbusters, despite various bugs and mole tunnels. I honestly thought the moles made a meal off the eggs. Ever the optimist, I decided to wait until the end of August to take any action.

The garden went nuts while we were on vacation. Everything was taller and fuller, not just the weeds. The dill and the cilantro were the only exceptions. However, the turtle bed remained the same. The guys that help out with the mowing weeded the garden and dug up the potatoes. They knew where the nest was, so they treated the spot with care.

Finally, on Wednesday, I noticed a small hole about the size of quarter next to the cilantro plant, which had gone to seed and died. Vova said he'd noticed it on Monday, but apparently didn't think it was worth mentioning to me.

Obviously, at least one survived the moles, hatched, and dug its way out. We theorized that more than one had hatched and come out through the same hole.

I didn't really expect to witness the baby turtles coming out to the surface, but I was still disappointed by the anticlimax.

We were allowed to leave work early yesterday for the holiday weekend. As a result, I got home a little earlier than usual. Vova smoked his pipe while I idly inspected the garden. I couldn't resist squatting down to study the turtle hole. Much to my surprise, there was a baby turtle inside it.

I turned on the water sprinkler and let it run while I went for a jog. The garden needed it, but I also hoped to soften the ground for the little turtle.

The hole was longer when I checked this afternoon and the turtle was definitely visible. I don't know how long he or she will stick around, but I kind of like the idea of resident garden turtle. Box turtles are land turtles rather than water turtles. They like lightly wooded areas. Given all the bushy herbs we have in the garden, maybe it will make its home there. It might need a name. Not that I'm getting attached to it already. Nope, not me.

A Couple of Other Things

One nice thing about virtual friends is that you can scroll past the endless parade of vacation photos without hurting their feelings. There aren't too many more, I promise.

Fort Henry was amazing. I met David, the Goat, the mascot of the Fort Henry Guard.  As you can see, David was tired from meeting his public all afternoon. The young lady serving as Goat Major told us that he outranked her.

The men and women of the FHG gave a great performance.






We also went to Boldt Castle on Heart Island.

Maybe I should apply for a job with the CBP?

We took a couple of day trips to Ontario, the last of which was to Ottawa. We saw the Parliament buildings.

After that, we walked through an open-air market that smelled just heavenly with all kinds of fresh produce. 

 

On the other side of the market, we found a wonderful bakery that also smelled like heaven. Arguably the least delectable of its selection included Obama Cookies. Anna tried one. Yep, it was a cookie with icing.

In the middle of all this, I learned how to make picot edging. I knew what it looked like, but I didn't know about knitting the live stitches together with the cast-on stitches to make a hem. 

All in all, it was a really nice vacation. I'll have to try it again some time.