Unraveled Wednesday 5/11/22

 Hello and Good Morning!

Gosh yesterday was such a pretty day.  Temps hovering right around 70 and lots of sunshine and blue, blue skies.  The morning was busy with PT and then grocery shopping, but the afternoon was ours.  Fletch ordered a new "box" for the garden.  Box in quotes because this thing is round but I can't think of what to call it.  It was delivered the other day and Fletch put it together...then I helped him move it into one of our raised bed boxes.

You can see it fits nicely into the center of one of our raised bed boxes with room still in the corners of the box for tall growing things - like tomato plants.  This new thing comes about chest high, so no bending over to harvest!  The plan for this is to use it for pepper plants and the like.  Depending on how it works, Fletch may order a second one for another box.  He has put straw in the bottom, then will add some peat moss and top soil.

Yesterday was also the day to harvest some rhubarb (and I forgot to take a picture).  I cut a bunch and have plenty for a pie and also to "stew" some.  When it gets really hot I'm thinking a rhubarb and vodka slushie might be just the ticket!!

Now it is Wednesday morning and time to talk making.  As usual, I am linking up with Kat and her Merry Band of Unravelers to talk making and reading.  If you saw my post on Monday, you know that the Hiking Trail socks are finished.  Woo-Hoo!  I have not yet picked out yarn for the next pair of socks.  I did not think that Fletch was really interested in another pair, but one night when I was winding yarn for the Guernsey Wrap, he asked if I was starting his socks.  Ha!  I guess he would like another pair...I will need to dig in the stash and find a suitable yarn.

Meanwhile, the Guernsey Wrap is growing.  I am on the final chart and plugging away on it.  Really it is a pretty quick knit with only 58 stitches to a row and worsted weight yarn.  Normally the yarn might bother me since it is not fingering weight, but it is KnitPicks Wool of the Andes yarn which is so soft and squishy.

There is still a bunch to knit here, but I'm pleased with the progress and I just love the pattern (click to enlarge).

On the reading side of things I have been struggling.  I'm about halfway through "Young Mungo" the book everyone is reading for "Read With Us."  I do not like it.  At all.  And, it disturbs me enough that I cannot read it after dinner or I will not sleep well and will wake up in the night thinking about it!  Wow!  Everyone is poor.  Everyone drinks heavily.  People are just not nice.  I will finish it because I want to participate in the discussion, but this is not a good one for me.

And then I was reading "French Braid" by Ann Tyler.  As I've said previously, Tyler can be hit or miss with me - mostly a miss and this one was a miss for sure.  I got about 100 plus pages into it and finally returned it to the library the other day.  I did not like the characters - I found them annoying (like I wanted to slap all of their faces!!).  I would read 3 pages or so and start to doze and then had no interest in picking up the book again.

One book I did finish is Read My Pins by Madeleine Albright.  This is a coffee table type book with gorgeous pictures of Madeleine Albright's pins and brooches that she was so well known for wearing.  I found this book very interesting and loved her stories of how she would choose a particular pin to wear when meeting with a particular person.  Dee found this book at one of the Little Free Libraries she discovered and passed it on to me.  Thanks Dee!  I am now shipping it to my friend in Maryland who is interested in reading it...once she is finished she will put it in a Little Free Library in her town.

When I returned French Braid to the library, I picked up two other books and I think I will be happy with them.  First is one I read about on Mary's Blog - Olympus, Texas which looks like it will be fun to read.  The second one which I have just started is Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward.  Ward is the author of "Sing Unburied, Sing" which I loved.  "Salvage the Bones" is an earlier novel by her and I'm optimistic that this will be equally well written.  I've also requested (and I can see on my library's web site that this has now been shipped and I should be able to pick it up in a day or so) This Book which my gardening friends might find interesting too.

Decades ago I was the type of person who would "have to" finish a book no matter what.  If I started a book, I had to finish it.  Thank goodness those days are past.  LOL  Life is way too short to continue to read things that don't bring you pleasure.  (Though I will, as I said, continue with Young Mungo.)

I'm heading to my office in a little bit.  I need to print out some things and work on updating org charts for budget season.  On the way to and/or from the office I will also stop to pick up a few things we couldn't find yesterday when we went to Acme to grocery shop.  I know our Giant store carries them, so will go there.  I don't plan to be at the office too long - next week I have to be in the office EVERY SINGLE DAY which will just about kill me.  I have folks in all week for meetings, plus the following Monday & Tuesday.  It's going to be a very long week!

I hope this mid-week finds you doing well.  Remember to head over to Kat's to see what others are making and reading.