Sunday, February 12, 2017

These Days

In case you were wondering, here is a glimpse at what I am up to these days, when I am not working or traveling.

What I'm Knitting    
 

A lacy stole made from a blend of super kid mohair and silk. Imagine: very soft, fine wool. I've been working on this project for nearly a year, and I'm almost finished. As you can see from the picture, my final ball of yarn is dwindling quickly. I have really enjoyed this project, especially working with this yarn, so I will be a little sad when it is finished, but then I will have the satisfaction of finally wearing my stole! "I like your scarf." "Thanks, I made it."

The story behind this project is that I bought all of the materials for the stole, and even started knitting it, when I was a sophomore in high school. That was around 8 years ago. Apparently I didn't have the dedication to follow through with the project then, even though I thought it was pretty. Last spring, while I was job hunting, I rediscovered this project in my stash and determined to finish it. To do so required tracking down the book at the local library that had the pattern in it, since I had never bothered to write it down and simply kept renewing the book! Thankfully, the book was easy to find. I checked out the book, photocopied the pattern (just in case), and started knitting.

While working on this project, I finally figured out how to knit and watch TV at the same time. Hence, rows and rows of this stole came forth from my needles while watching the 33rd season of "Survivor" and plenty of "MASH" episodes with my housemates.

What I'm Growing


Aloe vera. Isn't it beautiful?

This particular plant used to dwell in a much smaller, bright orange pot. I bought it last May or June; it was on clearance at Kroger. Although I enjoyed the plant and watered it on a regular basis, I didn't pay much attention to it. Then, in September or October, I realized that it had outgrown the orange pot. There was a whole family of aloe plants in that tiny pot!

This led to a Google research adventure. I learned the best type of soil for aloe, that baby aloe plants are called "pups," how to separate and re-pot the plants, and so on. My original aloe plant had four pups last fall.

And guess what? It has more pups now! There are two largish pups, which you can see in the picture. They are in the front right of the pot. Then, there are three or four wee baby pups that are just peeking out of the soil. They are beautiful and delicate. (If aloe can be delicate.) Unfortunately, you can't see them in the picture, so you will just have to take my word for it.

Plants are one of my newly discovered enjoyments, so you can look forward to more posts about plants in the future.