There are several things I should be doing...

but I cannot seem to stop knitting this sock!  I'm making up the pattern as I go, and am getting such a kick out of this colorful yarn.  The yarn is my some of my handspun yarn that thought I had messed up in the dye job, but now that I've seen it knitted up I can't even see the parts of the yarn where I was unhappy with the dye.  I can't say that I regret deciding this skein wasn't quite up to standards for the shop, I'm very much enjoying knitting with it.  Maybe if I tell myself that this is "quality control testing" then I won't feel quite so guilty for continuing to knit this morning!

growing

 This little seedling is ready for the garden.

sometimes, happiness is

a basket full of color.                                                                                                                             

spring gardening

 Most of the time I think I am a pessimist.  Glass half empty, expect the worst.  Life is hard and sucks most of the time.  ...And then the calender page turns to February and I start planning a vegetable garden.  Planning leads to reserving a garden spot and pouring over seed websites.  Which leads to ordering seeds.  It is hard to be unhappy when you order vegetable seeds.  The return on investment simply can't be beat.
Plus- you really can't argue that you are dark and negative and still insist on rolling up newspaper pots, filling them with dirt and planting seeds, even if you tell yourself that they probably won't grow anyway.

yep, that says "eggplant" up there.  No, LD and I do not like eggplant very much, but we thought they looked very cool growing in other gardens last year.   don't judge.

Because actually a whole lot of the time, they do sprout!  This year I've even had lavender sprout from seed.  I adore the smell of lavender and honestly think I would grow it instead of grass in the yard if I thought I could get away with it.  Very excited about the lavender seedlings.

tomato

 We have english peas, carrots, leeks, lettuce and spinach out in the garden already, planted just a week ago.  Waiting to put the seedlings out is very difficult for me.  Definite practice in patience.  The record breaking warmth of April has me anxious to transplant some veg, but it is too early.  Most of the seedlings don't even look ready, I'm just so looking forward to fresh, homegrown produce that I want. to. plant. all. the. things. now! 

 I'll wait.  While I wait, I'll try and remember to be thankful for seeds, dirt, and newspaper pots, simple things that help remind you that sometimes things still happen exactly as they are supposed to.  

tomato

still here, sort of...

Bailey sez: "don't let the bunnies get me, please"

sitting quietly in the corner.  Spinning a little, knitting a little.  Lurking a lot. I believe there is some serious wisdom in the phrase "the only way to break out of a rut is to break out of that rut", so this is me.  Taking one little step.  Thanks for bearing with me, I'ma try and get my funny back.  

Pesto time! ...and my first attempt at 'process photos'

mmmmmm, my basil plant was gloriously full of fragrant leaves, I scored pine nuts on sale and a small wedge of real Parmisiano Reggiano, it is most definitely pesto time!  My food processor is packed away in storage, so I was going to make pesto by hand chopping, but I wasn't thrilled with the texture the last time I tried hand chopping.  Luckily, I stumbled across a post here: whocookedwhat.blogspot.com/2009/04/i-make-pesto-all-time-and-it-is-so-easy.html where an immersion blender was used in place of a food processor.  This worked so much better than hand chopping- and I can't imagine a food processor making it any better.  I can't give a true recipe here, I didn't (and usually don't) measure ingredients for pesto. Also, I didn't add garlic, I just didn't have any on hand.  So here is the process I followed:

warm fuzzies!

I didn't wash the basil because I grew it with no pesticides, so I just picked all of the lovely leaves.  My hands and kitchen smelled divine!

toasty!

toast some pine nuts- I used about 2 1/2 oz because I had a lot of basil, probably 5 full cups of packed leaves

mmmm, parmisiano!

let the pine nuts cool and grate some good parmigiana reggiano, at least 1/2 cup.  Once the pine nuts are cool, place a small handful of basil in a mixing bowl, add about a tablespoon of pine nuts, a good pinch of parmigiana and a drizzle of olive oil.  Use your immersion blender to squish and blend the ingredients.  It is a little difficult in the beginning, but will get easier as you add more stuff.  Just keep adding a bit of each ingredient and blend/squish.  The first handful or two got mushed up and kind of stuck in the 'vents' of the blender, if this happens just add a bit (light drizzle) of olive oil.  By adding ingredients a handful at a time, some of the basil and pine nuts get completely pulverized into paste, but the latter ingredients get chopped a bit less, leaving you with (imho) perfectly textured pesto.  Not chunky, that would not be right, but not a smooth paste either.

ready for the beauty shot!

Place in a bowl, a final dusting of cheese and drizzle of olive oil and ...."Oh Interwebs, when will you invent smell-o-vision links"?!

someone hand me a breadstick, stat!

charming...

I really love the way this little powder room curtain turned out.  It is pretty rare that a project turns out exactly as I picture it in my head when casting on.  Lacy and beaded and just so pretty!

The pattern is available as a free Ravelry download named Candlestick Curtains by Carol Shoenfelder