Hello, my Fine Fibrous Friends.
First, may I apologize for accidentally giving the false impression last post that I was injured or ill. The knitting-in-bed-with-a-view photo was purely to show off the self-indulgent bliss of our brief jaunt to the Brecon Beacons. And the throwaway comment about the universe’s capacity for dumping excrement on one’s world was because I’m a cynical old aardvark. At the time of typing, all was well on the distant and weird Planet Twisted, even though we’ve got the builders in and I’m way behind on food-growing activities in the garden.
I’m illustrating this post mostly with garden shenanigans, because such things have occupied a sizeable chunk of my attention lately.
Unfortunately that blog post gave the universe ideas, because I developed an irritating case of covid a few days later. It was nothing too severe (thank you vaccine) other than the exhaustion that welded me to the sofa for most of a week. Seriously people, who turned gravity up? You’d think I’d have got lots of knitting done, right? Wrong. Yeah, I was that knackered. Those knitting needles are heavy.
Thank goodness the covid has gone, but it seems to have stolen my physical fitness as it left, like a badly-behaved house-guest who spitefully pockets the family silver whilst they’re being evicted. The other day was my first post-viral run and… ouch. I use the word ‘run’ loosely, because I had to give up and walk anything that could loosely be described as uphill… or even not-downhill. Next time will be better. If I don’t run enough, my energy levels reduce to nearly zero and all sorts of nasty perimenopausal symptoms begin poking me rudely in the everything, so I need to run, much as I’d prefer to spend my time sprawled across a chaise longue, idly nibbling fruit. Also, I enjoy consuming all the food and wine, and I need to burn that junk off somehow.
But if this ‘run’ wasn’t already unpleasant enough, it began hammering down with rain when I was about a mile from home. I don’t mind running in rain – it can be pleasantly refreshing – but this was the kind of downpour that makes you crave windscreen wipers for your own eyeballs. And then I noticed a car approaching, flashing its lights aggressively. Yeah, yeah, yeah, rude driver, haven’t you ever seen a soggy middle-aged woman flobbling along in Lycra before? This is why I like running on secluded trails rather than on roads. No doubt, impertinent car-wielder, you’ll think it hilarious to speed through this puddle beside me, but what you don’t realize is that it’s impossible to get any wetter than saturated so I really don’t care. You’ll probably shout something offensive out of your car window too, but thanks to the Doppler effect I can never decipher car-yellers’ words anyway (is that just me?) so I’ll remain blissfully unaware of the specific content of your contempt. Meh. Whatever.
Reader, it took an embarrassingly long time for me to realize that the driver was in fact the Stoic Spouse, and that he (and the twinnage) had come to rescue me from this deluge. They didn’t even yell obscenities – well none that I heard, anyway.
A small part of me thought, ABSOLUTELY NOT! I Shall Finish My Run Properly And Complete My Miles; I Do Not Require Rescuing. How Very Dare You Underestimate Me, Husbandface, Because I Am Tough And Resilient And Not Even Slightly Water-Soluble? But the rest of me punched that part squarely in the proverbials and squelched into the car. Thanks mate, I owe you one. Sorry I dripped all over your passenger seat.
Yes yes, I haven’t forgotten that this is a yarn-related blog. Having submitted my stranded cardigan design to Novita, I’ve now seen the photoshoot pictures, and I’m slightly-more-than-very excited to see the published result in a few weeks’ time. Sorry that I can’t show you these pictures yet, but the time will come. And in the ludicrously implausible event that you’re non-fluent in Finnish, they’ve generously said that I can publish the pattern in English on my own site three months after their version appears. Did I mention that the Novita staff are awesome folk? It’s been an absolute joy to work with this yarn company and their yarns, and I’m quietly happy with how the cardigan turned out. No, scrub that, I’m not quiet about it at all. I’m NOISILY jubilant about this pattern, and I hope you’ll like it too once it’s published.
The second design that they’ve commissioned is a stranded dress, and I’ve been busy crunching the final sets of numbers that require crunching. Crunch, crunch, crunch. It’s – dare-I-jinx-it – going well. (Oh dear, I’ve definitely jinxed it now.) My friends, there will be pictures. Soon. I’m enjoying the contrast between the two designs. The cardigan was bottom-up, multi-steeked, and complex. The dress is a yoked top-down affair, with zero steeks or seams. The combination of the two has exercised my design muscles, so even though my physical fitness is sub-par right now, my yarn-designing and pattern-grading muscles are ripped. Yikes, this level of hubristic arrogance can only be followed by truly spectacular failure, right? Oh well, my downfall will at least be good for a few anecdotes on here, I guess. I’ll try to accept my humbling with grace. And wine… mostly wine.
❤
To you too. ❤
A wonderfully written post as always 😊 Hoping the effects if Covid are passing more each day. Your photos are amazing! Such brilliant garden produce. Lookimg forward to your new designs!
Thank you for all of this, even though I don’t deserve such kindness.
COVID, it is a draining disease. I hope you recover well of it. The car story is hilarious. So sweet they picked you up, after they completely soaked you XD I have one knitted dress, never wear it. I admire your dress and skirts soooo much. Too hot for this Nordic lady. So I admire it at distance.
Yeah Covid is a bit lousy really. May it stay well away from your door.
Thank you! I needed this today. Sending a blast of positivity to ward off any hubristic-induced failure ions that might be heading your way … 🙂
Ha ha, THANK YOU. Seriously, thank you.
Giggled most of the way through… as usual!
So… after 2 years of delay we went to Alaska. The first day in Anchorage I spotted a store selling yarn from the Muskox. I did not go in… there in danger lurked… expensive danger
The next day we stopped at a wildlife sanctuary and I got off the bus and sprinted ( I never do this) because I spotted a Muskox!! Of a bus full of people I was the only one interested in the poor beast.. they are ugly though! I doubt any one else knew it produced very expensive yarn… except aged spouse as I prattled on…
Oh wow! Did you approach said beast with a polite enquiry about whether you might take some of its tummy-fluff? Qiviut is the best…
Beautifully written, and I enjoyed all the photos. Get well soon!
Thank you and thank you and – most of all – thank you.
Forgot to say how much I loved the dragonfly photo!
That deserves another, extra-large, THANK YOU!
Re the Dreaded Disease: because I’ve been taking vitamin D for absolutely yonks, when I caught it I wouldn’t have known were it not for the test. I am convinced that the vaccine is boosted by Vitamin D !
Life is never dull chez vous, Phil: even your husband’s coming to get you out of the rain turns out fun. 🙂
Tell me: in the first shot of edible yummy veg, what are those little yellow things ?
Steeking is a very dirty word in my personal lexicon; so it’s just as well that the arthritis in my hands doesn’t let me knit any more. Crochet doesn’t have that word !
Have you sighted Robinson the Robin of late ??
Oh gosh, there’s so much to respond to here. ❤ I like your vit D theory. Here in the UK we’re mostly chronically deprived of the stuff. I might look into supplements. VERY glad to hear that you didn’t suffer excessively when you caught covid. My own fears are (i) giving it to my elderly and vulnerable parents, and (ii) long covid.
The little yellow veggie things are tiny courgettes. With emphasis on the tiny. Where is the courgette glut of which most growers complain??
Ah, robins. (I so miss Robyn.) There is a bold robin who appears pretty reliably when I’m disturbing the soil, and who has realized that I’m not going to eat him/her. Honestly, I waste so much time (e.g if I’m turning the compost) waiting at a respectful distance whilst s/he hunts for grubs. I’d like to think that this is a descendent of Robyn.
And is, in all probability, Phil ! 🙂
Oh yes – that dragonfy shot is extra good ! – your photography is really sumptuous. XO
The subject matter made beauty inevitable!
Well done you! Even with the Covid you stagger on, and contemplate refusing rescue by your menfolk. Congratulations on having the good sense to be rescued!
BTW – how you are with running, I’m the same with knitting. Which is just as well as I HATE running, and couldn’t at present because 6mo-old replacement knee. I entirely see what ‘my’ surgeon meant when he says people say that the ‘new knee’ ain’t the same as a ‘proper knee’. It had a disconcerting tendency to ‘wobble’ on the odd occasion – usually when I’m coming downstairs kinda loaded up, or crossing a road! ‘My’ surgeon did indeed leave me with both legs the same length, though I seriously wondered at one point, just with a replacement knee that might be out to kill me on the quiet! I’m supposed to see him again in December, so we’ll see how it is by then.
Very much looking forward to the jacket pattern. Totally the wrong shape for a knitted dress. And hoping to get our own dragonflies when we dig our own pond later this year.
Oh yikes regarding the replacement knee! I’d naively hoped that such things would be at least as good as the original. May your balance be steady and your knee be strong.
VERY glad to see that you’re planning a pond. May it be swiftly populated by dragonflies, damselflies, amphibians, etc. Enjoy.
Always so happy to see these lovely words and photos in the mailbox.
Always so happy to see kind responses such as this. Thank you.
I love this! I too have to walk and/or run just about everyday or I will transform into a human slug. The older you get, the more slug-like you become and the deeper the lethargy gets. And as for your tremendously green plate of garden goodies, what exactly is that tightly bound looking thingie at the bottom?
Yes to all of this. Sadly.
The thing at the bottom is a kohlrabi. First time I’ve grown it and useful for bulking out a stir-fry but not life-changeingly gorgeous. It does grow fast though.
I got COVID in March. Being properly vaxxed and boosted, I was only really ill for two days. I thought, “Hey, this wasn’t so terrible,” and then the tired part began. Be gentle with yourself. I was exhausted until May but determined to still do all the things. It did not go particularly well and I probably should have just given in a bit more and known that I would feel better eventually. I have the same question about the garden as Glenda about the thingie at the bottom of your garden plate. I am pretty sure I have never grown that vegetable or, if I did, it died young and I never saw anything like that on my plate as a result! I have my fingers crossed that you will get to enjoy your spectacular sweater success with no rebound disasters. I just had a major, major crochet and knitting disaster (the yarn seller should not tell you that a yarn can be dunked for a quick wash if this will result in epic and immediate disaster to your completed sweater that three separate treatments with Carbona color run remover will not fix) so why don’t you borrow my disaster as your karma balancing project? As always, your post brightened my day. Thank you.
Thank you for such a smile-inducing warm-hearted comment. Seriously, thank you. I hope that you are at least close to feeling OK again.
The veg bottom left is a kohlrabi. Quick to grow and medium-tasty.
Since it is sickeningly hot here (Think heat stroke.) I cannot bear to think knitting. I still wear my smart wool socks though! They keep my feet cool and dry.
I am in love with your garden. It’s more than a minute since our back yard has produced more than the best grass in Texas (Despite triple digit temps.), amazing best-ever-flowering crepe myrtles (In a contest they’d win best in show.), the loveliest willow, pomegranate trees, new mulberry trees that have already fruited after being a year old–and a host of mystery bushes and trees. The drawer full of seeds will have to wait for spring. COVID took my green thumb two years ago and has not returned it. So your success is gardening porn to these starved eyes. Even the fig tree struggles this year after having produced nothing in at least two years. Well done, you.
Bobbie Jean, I had to consut a Naturopath because no help from medical system, Zinc, Vit C, Vit D, CO Q10, and Iodine drops all to boost your immune system for covid and issues with vaccine. Do google and see what info is online. certainly helped with what coud have been either Covid or flu.
Responding to both of you with warmth and gratitude. May prolonged covid soon be ancient history.
Entertained and charmed as always. Thank you. We received our first measurable rain in a month last night. We put in an irrigation system that helps, but the eggplant was begging me for rain the other day. The tomatoes tried to fool me with their new blossoms but I knew better. The bunnies are enjoying the beans and peas, wretched critters. And Max, the 65 pound hound at the age of 4 has decided to dig in the garden. He buries his dog treats in them. It wasn’t the scourge-that-will-not-be-named that put me under, but a minor surgery. I thought it would be a quick recovery but a month later I still have twinges. I love your knitting pictures. My needles lay silent. My hands twist with arthritis and my knuckles lock up. But like your running I need my crafting. I’m looking forward to a July that doesn’t give me grief, but a happy harvest and lots of knitting. Here’s to a new month and no more pesky problems. Your posts are a highlight in my inbox!
As always, thank you for the warmth in your response. May you now recover rapidly and completely from your surgery. Here indeed to a productive month for both of us.
potato plant envy! have you ever grown sweet potatoes and are they prolific? do I see grow bags?
I’ve never grown sweet potatoes because I fear that they’d be a bit rubbish in our UK climate. Happy to be disagreed with, though!
The spuds are in a mixture of buckets and bags. It seems to work.
Phil, today is my birthday and your post was the icing on my cake!
As always, I smiled and laughed out loud. How do you do it?
Thank you for making my birthday extra special.
HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY birthday yesterday! May the coming year bring endless good things in your direction. ❤
“Husbandface”, is that a new insult? I love it and will have to try it out when appropriate! Thanks for another exciting read. Stay well!
I dearly wish that I could take the credit for the term ‘husbandface’, but I stole it from elsewhere. Also, thank you. May you stay well too.
I was going to buy myself a knitted dress for Christmas, not anymore!!! Love the pattern and do so enjoy your blogs.
Aww, you’re very kind. Thank you!
<3 for you, Phil and still you keep going, creating and entertaining us all. Thank you. Xx
❤ to you too. As always, thank you for your kindness.
‘Husbandface’!! That’s a keeper xx
I wish I could say that I’d invented the term, but… I stole it.
Lovely to read your musings. I am not a knitter but do enjoy your crafting and creating, views of a landscape i miss. Dragonfly, a brilliant snap. But all your photos are well composed. Enjoy the results of your garden… and is that a Kohlrabi? Hope you and others recover soon from the virus.
Hahaha, thanks! My husband is annoyed with me now because my giggling made it impossible to conceale that I actually wasn’t listening to him but reading your hilarious post!
You’re doing well being back on the run again! It took me 8 weeks before I stopped being RIDICULOUSLY breathless on pretty minimal exertion (and I’d had 3xearly NHS worker vaccines – there’s some perks eh). I’m only really getting back up to running speed now and it was Feb when I had Covid. So be gentle on yourself, be guided by how it feels, if your heart rate / breathing is complaining then slooow down, I am convinced that your body is telling you something, don’t stress that myocardium if it’s complaining. But I hope you’ll be fine and back up to old speed in no time, you’ve had enough stuff the last couple of years! From the knitting, running, A&E doctor who loves your blog! ‘Husbandface’ bahaha got to steal that one.
Beautiful dragonfly ,they eat all sorts of nasties .Ohoo what juicy berriesyummmm. Good to hear you and your feet are working things out
Ah yes, you _have_ to listen to him, but he’ll quite happily carry on scrolling through whatever when you’re trying to talk to him. Meanwhile he’ll be hoping he’s making the appropriate noises, so that you don’t notice he’s not actually _listening_ to you. What happened to sauce for the goose being sauce for the gander?
And what sauce might you serve with a goose of either sex?
Joy to read your funny posts again although sorry about the C-19 thingy. Hope you are up and about in no time. I have not blogged for a long time and it is no great loss, but, I do have a ROBIN. It appears the minute I put my head out of the door and flaps and chits until I produce food. It followed the window cleaner into the shed recently as he was sweeping the floor. (The only man I know who sweeps the floor of the shed…). It warns me when the cat is about in case I hadn’t noticed. For this I am grateful as the cat is a monsterous killer and I have to watch him ALL the time. Having the robin, although without the bonds of yours, reminds me of your blog and how marvellous it is and that birdy time was. x
Sorry to say I laughed out loud reading you didn’t recognise the family rescue vehicle! Glad to hear you are over Covid – when I had it too I was way too exhausted to pick up knitting sticks and foggy headed so reading a pattern would have been impossible! Keep on growing the veg and growing the knitting. Great blog!
The knee is fine, for a given value of ‘fine’, which is most of the time. Wednesday I walked the half mile to the market, round the market, and part way back carrying my stick, but not actually using it. Just for the last quarter mile home, part of which is a bit uphill, but not steep.
But yes, the ol’ balance was never that good in the first place, unless sitting – I can ride a bicycle! Think it wasn’t improved by 8 months using one of those wheeled walkers – mind you, it was SOOO NICE to have a seat always available and somewhere to put bags! So I keep doing the Pilates, and try to walk fast enough not to wobble. It’s coming.
& the pond, definitely. Cos all we’ve had so far is midges/mosquitos in the odd container of standing water! Don’t want them in our pond. Do want frogs and toads, we have Very Large slugs!
Love your post, which definitely improved my mood, and—even better—at the start of the day.
Great photos too. I remember the frustration of being unable to muster the strength to knit during times of illness or recovery from surgeries, mental energy being nonexistent; such a waste of good knitting time. You are stalwart to get back to running. I used to be a hiker when my knees would allow it, and I remember the determination with which I hit the trail as soon as I could manage it.