Happy June

The Summer Flies shawl is a pleasure to work on, easy directions but enough pattern to be interesting. I've completed one section of butterflies, and am about to start on the second.

 

I meant to post on Memorial Day weekend, and time got away from me. That was my five year blogiversary. Five years! It's amazing how fast the time goes, season after season, and how life has changed during that time for all of us.

I've debated whether or not to continue with this blog, as I can't seem to post as often as I'd like, and knitting progress is slow. But when I think about stopping altogether, it makes me sad, so for now, I'm going to keep going, even if I no longer keep up with my twice a week schedule that I used to have.

My life still feels very unsettled. Because I still have not found full-time work, I've had to take a part-time retail job. I'm grateful for the friendly people I work with there, their flexibility with the schedule, and the pretty clothes. But juggling this in addition to my shelter responsibilities, the Examiner.com articles which take a tremendous amount of time for what I don't get paid, and trying to attend meetings and make connections for a full-time job and/or my writing and editing business, and I am mentally exhausted. Add in trying to exercise regularly and take care of a house, and it gets trickier to try and fit it all in. Do you feel sometimes like you're running in circles, never making any progress? That's about the size of things. I've had a try-everything-and-see-what-works philosophy, but I'm finding that I'm not sure yet what isn't working, only that I can't do everything, and do it well.

Besides knitting and reading, one of the places I find peace this time of year is my garden. It's still very much a work in progress, and I can't buy all the plants yet that I want to include, but the plants I do have are growing fast.

 

Black-seeded simpson lettuce

 

Carrots, on the left, very much an experiment. Heliotrope, on the right, also called Cherry Pie Plant.

 

Nelly Moser clematis, looking bleached out from the sun. This was here when we moved.

 

My first peony in this garden, Karl Rosenfeld. I bought and planted two tubers last year; someone put the wrong variety in the bag, and the other peony looks like it's going to bloom in white!

 

My little backyard garden. The obelisk has a purple clematis that should bloom next month. The lavender flowers on the left are catmint. There are pink roses near the gazing ball, just starting to bloom. I am holding my breath with those, hoping the deer don't bother them. They are the only non-deear resistant plants I'm risking here.

 

 A close-up of the catmint, sea holly, and peony, with the obelisk in the background. I'm still trying to figure out what to plant in front of the sea holly. Either another of those, or the light pink peonies near the obelisk, that ended up in the shade?

This weekend, Chris and I will be celebrating our anniversary. We are taking an overnight trip to Cape Cod, and I hope that the weather will be sunny and I'll have nice photos to share with you when I get back. I want to ride my bike, and hopefully visit the Monomoy wildlife refuge like we did last year. The sandy coast, with the azure blue water, tufts of seagrass, birds, and horseshoe crabs are amazing. What are your weekend plans?

 

 I found this skirt today at the little consignment shop in my town, when I dropped off a skirt of mine to sell. It was meant to be mine. Nothing cheers me up faster than pink and sparkly. 
 

Comments

[2paw]

I love your peony and the skirt could not be more perfect!!! The green shawl is my favourite though!! It is so bright and pretty. I am glad that you aren't bored, even if you are not doing the things you would prefer. I think there is nothing worse than being bored at work. And you are certainly being very proactive so I am sure good things will happen soon.
happy Anniversary all round!!

[Bridget]

I love your shawl - the green is especially pretty!

I'm glad you are going to keep blogging, I would truly miss you if you decided to give it up.

Have fun on your trip! (I'm sooo jealous ...)

[MrsSDC]

Love the pink skirt. Sparkly and Pink, great combo.

I'll have to show you some sparkly, pink/purple yarn I bought in Baltimore last weekend.

Congratulations on another anniversary! Have a great time at the Cape.

[Sarah]

Happy anniversaries! Hope you have a wonderful weekend away!

[Kara]

Blogging should be a great outlet and not a chore. So if you have to go longer between posts than that's ok.

And that skirt is begging for a fun night out!

[Pam]

Happy Anniversary -- I hope you have a great time wearing that terrific skirt!

[Martha H]

Wow. You really saved the best for last. The skirt is so very lovely. And, I have been debating Summer Flies, and you may have made me push it up in the queue that is in my head. Enjoy your weekend and have a great ride,

[Sara]

Your garden looks like a beautiful place to relax! Love the green shawl...

I know it's been a tough time for you on the job search...but, the right thing will come along...

Have a nice week-end! Let yourself relax!!!

[Meredith]

Love the shawl! And I'm very jealous of your garden - looks great!

[Kristen]

Congratulations on your 2 anniversaries. :-)

I've been blogging less frequently lately because of life's demands, but that's OK. Don't feel you have to live up to anyone's expectations, and don't demand too much of yourself when you have so much on your plate.
It's nice that you have a pretty retreat where you can relax and enjoy.

Ohhhhh...the skirt is just perfect! Dance and swirl!

[Bubblesknits]

I love pink and sparkly, too. : )

I'm sorry things feel so unsettled for you right now. Just remember to take one day at a time. ((hugs))

[Dorothy W.]

I hope you had a nice weekend! I'm glad you are going to keep your blog going -- it's great having your posts even if they only come occasionally! Whenever I have thoughts about giving the blog up, I can't quite bring myself to do it either.

It does sound hard to juggle everything you've got going on; I hope you are able to find some balance and peace in the midst of the busyness.

[betty]

I like the skirt-- I'm not that big on pink, but I do like sparkly stuff.

I don't usually feel like I'm going in circles, but sometimes I feel like my life just consists of making lists of things to do, then crossing them off as I do them, and it's a never-ending process.