In the past week, there have been more days of rain than sunshine, so I am soaking up every little bit that I can. On Tuesday night, I laid out a blanket in the yard and read until the sun dipped behind the garage. The warmer weather has called for salads and iced tea- one of my favorite combinations. With the warm weather, the end of the Spring semester draws near- meaning I can work from home three days a week instead of two. I’m looking forward to working on my back porch rather than sitting at a dark desk inside. Not much knitting has been happening, but I have found plenty of inspiration on Pinterest. In fact, I’ve been a little Pinterest-crazy lately, and it’s been a lot of fun. I have a better idea for what the remainder of Spring and this coming Summer will look like: full of glowing light, spontaneous travel, delicious food, entrancing novels, and beautiful crafts.
Lily-of-the-valley. Who would have thought? Late last fall, I ripped out a tree and cut out an azalea on the far side of my east side of the house, exposing a strip of Earth that had not seen consistent light in at least 5 years. During my lunch break on Tuesday, I wandered out to check the lay of the land and noticed a clump of lily-of-the-valley. At least 15 stalks of blooms- with more on the way. I know these flowers are poisonous, but they smelled like pure heaven.
The peonies are coming along. I made peony jelly last spring- while it was tasty, it did not hold up beyond 4 months in the pantry. This year I will be content to clip the blooms and bring them on the table. I have a pair of antique blue mason jars that I will use for on the table- and from all appearances, there will be a bumper crop this year.
My beloved roses are coming along, too. I have to spray, fertilize, and mulch- but The Poet’s Wife is at a more mature size. There’s more buds than I cared to count. The other rose doesn’t have as many buds- maybe five. That bush is much older and is still recovering from losing a branch to my nemesis, spongy moths.
The State has been spraying consistently in the evenings… and I hope it all works. Last summer, I was running around with a poker and electric tennis racket trying to kill off as many larvae as I could. I’m one of the many that are allergic to them- even the smallest one touching my bare skin sets off a rash and awful itchiness. It doesn’t help that I try to wear shorts and neon tees in the summer to keep it easy to spot ticks.
Country life, eh? For all of its drawbacks- one beautiful Pennsylvania blue sky is worth a hundred cloudy ones. I couldn’t ask for anything else. Getting to do yard work with my love and enjoy the sunshine on bare skin is the most marvelous of treats.
I have finally cleaned and threaded my great-grandmother’s sewing machine. I did it all yesterday in order to sew a quick teacozy- isn’t it the most darling thing in the world? My beloved partner gifted me a peony Fiesta teapot for Christmas, and it has been calling for a cozy ever since. Now, it has one- and it makes my kitchen counter a much more cheerful place. I have another sewing project to start- a weekender bag sewing kit that I found at Walmart a year ago. I think I will take a go at it next Sunday, after my yard sale. Sewing is much easier on my hands than knitting or crochet. My hands have never been the same since I developed tendinitis during my paper cranes challenge in 2018. I do have a knitting project on the go, and I think I will work on it in between my sewing days.
gathering swallows 