At last... a word cloud generator for the graphically unenlightened... wordle.

Now that was a party...

Back home relaxing after a wonderful couple weeks (!) celebrating my mother's birthday.

We started out by picking up my grandparents and taking them to the main festivities in Pullman - a family BBQ with surprise "Palouse Home Companion" skit (brought to you by vanilla, the flavor a maturity), followed by an community wide ice cream social. It was all great fun.

I was supposed to do the monologue for the skit, but got all flustered and weepy thinking of what a wonderful person my mom is and what she has done for so many people. Mr. M came to the rescue with a superb keilloresque recap of the week that summed up a lot about our family life and let me give my little tribute at the end. You know what? We're so much better together, and that's why I am so glad we are married :)

Then there was an evening with home-made ravioli and black forest cherry chocolate cake... a trip to the lake... a chance to talk to my aunties... and hold my new little cousin... then the party came to my house and there were crab cakes and walks by the beach and thrift shopping and summer purse sewing and discussions about Njal's Saga and Middlemarch... *happy sigh*

I enjoy my family so much and I'm very thankful for the time with them this summer.

Oh, and that shawl that I was knitting and knitting and knitting for the party? I bound off and blocked it the night before and it was just big enough, but of course in all the hubbub I didn't get a picture on my camera. So, I'll have to wait for Grandmother's film to be developed. It's not the last of the shawl though, I have much more yarn and I'd like to figure out how to add a decorative border. Just need to summon the will to tink the bind-off, remark the stitches and figure out the math for the border... or I could just keep reading Kon-Tiki... hmmm....

Happy Birthday Mom!

Pattern: Icarus, minus one body repeat, following errata as marked on the designer's web site.



Yarn: Garnstudio Cotton Viscose, 7 skeins (840 yards)
The rows of yo's in the body didn't block out very open, probably because of the fiber choice, but the rest of the pattern is quite defined. And I could run fishing line down each line of yo's and reblock if I wanted (just don't think it's worth reblocking the beast). Overall I am very pleased with this yarn. It has a wonderful sheen and makes a fabric that is thick, slick, and slightly cool to the touch.



With a shawl though, it's not just how it feels, or how it looks hanging in a window...
it's how the pattern looks on the body too. Design elements can disappear or suddenly become eloquent when worn...



And this is where I fell in love with Icarus. Wearing it 3/4 wrap style.

Love the shape, love the drape. You're sure you wanted a shawl for your birthday?

Climbing Mt. Icarus

Having summited once, the knitter embarks again. Is 3.5 more repeats before 7/13/08 at 3:00 pm possible? Who can say...

Freedom

Glad to hear that Ingrid Betancourt and the longest held American hostages have been rescued by the Colombian government.

Eye Candy 4th of July

Everything a small town, rural farming community 4th of July should have... blue sky, wheat fields, crop duster stunts, lots of flags, happy little kids, draft horses, the vintage fire truck from "No Cow Ranch," a pie tasting contest and sparklers in the pasture. Enjoy!

Herb Garden

Since we aren't moving this summer, I finally had the chance to start the herb garden of my dreams. Today I picked out some rosemary, lavender, oregano, basil, parsley, cilantro, sage, chives and mint. It is amazing how many varieties there are, and then there are many different colors and flavors of each kind. I passed on the pineapple mint for now, but couldn't resist the chocolate mint. Could you?

This the first time I've ever gardened and I'm so excited! I got all my little plants home and started potting them this evening. As I handled them I enjoyed their different fragrances. I am sure looking forward to fresh mint in my ice tea...

I am researching as I go, and I'm learning all sorts of things. I've already discovered that I may not get much out of the cilantro. It apparently has a very limited life, and it flowers as soon as its roots reach 75 F. However our weather has been holding mostly in the 60's, so maybe I can get it to grow enough to harvest some for salsa before it gives up.

Oh, and right now my camera is temporarily unavailable, so the photos above are the product of another round of flickr cruising. There are actually fewer herb pictures than I thought (considering the number of say, cupcake pictures), so once I do get the camera back I'll have to try for some cute herb garden shots. And with that cliff-hanging promise I will sign off...