Oh, What A Beautiful Morning!

    Today seems like the perfect day...sunny and warm with a nice breeze.  Let's hope it lasts all summer! Sounded like the kid (he graduated from high school yesterday) down-the-road-and-up-the-next-hill had a great party last night.  Lots of hooping and hollering, I think they may have had their home-made slip-n-slide going, bonfire, music, fireworks.  Fanny hide in the other bedroom even after party quieted down around 4 am (I woke up when they put the bonfire out...the wind carried the smell of wet burnt wood).  Their slip-n-slide looks pretty neat...plastic covered slope down to a dug out swimming hole in the creek. Sounds like a pump is used to pour water on the plastic from the creek.  Nothing like your own Water Safari ride in the back yard!  It's suppose to be hazy, hot, and humid the next few days so they should be using it a lot. 
   The ophthalmologist, Dr. Russo, at Bassett was very nice: my eye is not infected, it's an airborne allergy; use eye drops...don't use the antibiotic cream my MD prescribed; got an Rx for new glasses and I will see Fran Baggetta this week to have them made in Herkimer; but I do have to see a surgeon and have the lesions removed from around the right eye, especially the small one on the upper lid that weeps and bleeds from time to time.  That one has to be biopsied, too.  Got an appointment to see the surgeon on July 25th in Cooperstown.  Hope the State is finished resurfacing Rte 28 by then.  We had to wait in line about 10 mins each way.  If we were hot in the car, wonder how the flag person was feeling?
   I found out why I can't download photos...the MAGIX Photo Manager program wasn't installed on my pc...or it was and then removed when there was a virus or something. Anyway, it's not there, the CD is cracked and the company is nonresponsive. Anybody got a Jazz camera with that program and willing to lend the photo manager cd? 

And The Garden Grows

   Jeff's been busy with boxes for the garden.  Last week he built boxes for 3 sides of and in the middle of the bean tower, another 4x4  for a space in the garden and even made a large flower box for me and we moved dirt from the big boxes out back to them. With both of us filling wheelbarrows and moving dirt the new boxes were filled quickly.  Jeff planted cucumbers, zucchini and eggplant, and cantaloupe in the bean tower, and sweet potatoes in the new 4x4 box in the garden.   Then he tipped the big box over to empty it and moved it, rolling it on logs to the garden where we'll refill it with dirt from the second big box which will then be moved next to it...end to end.  The third big box will be put in the garden from the apple tree towards the sitting area.  I think that leaves room for one more 4x4 box.  I know the herbs will go in one of the big boxes and I hope the ground cherries get their own box.  The tomatoes are doing well...and they are from seed!  Most have flowers and the plants are stocky and lush.  The peppers have flowers, too, and there is even a pepper on one!  Jeff was saying something the other day about getting some more hot pepper plants if we have room in the boxes for them.  Since the beans are not in the bean tower this year but in boxes, they have trellis which they are quickly out growing!  Once all the boxes are in place, Jeff wants to till between them and mulch them with wood chips.  We've only bought one trailer load each of compost and top soil to fill the new boxes and will probably have to get another load each to fill the last big box.  In the fall Jeff will add some compost to each box so they will be ready planting in the spring.
   Not much has been selling in the shop these last few weeks but I have been knitting between filling my wheelbarrow with dirt and mowing the lawn. I did a couple of baseball hats to replace some that sold and a red v-neck cardigan with baseball buttons to compete with the navy and white pin-stripe v-neck sweater I did last week. (Can't legally put logos on them but most fans recognize the pin-stripes/solid red sweaters.) Today I did a couple of apple hats with little brown stems and green leaves after I saw something similar on a website.  I called them "Apple of My Eye" hat.  Maybe they will appeal to some grandmothers.  Hope so. Anyway, they're ready for the shop.
   Tomorrow I have to go to the Eye Clinic in Cooperstown.  I have been having a cloudy discharge from my right eye which has several skin tags on the lids, both eyes are irritated from something airborne...we're outside so much!...and it's time for an eye exam anyway, so when I saw my regular doctor today (we're still trying to get my INR to stay in range) she referred me to the ophthalmologist in Herkimer but the girl at Scheduling said I had to go to C'town first and do my follow-ups in Herkimer and got me an appointment for tomorrow morning. (That's fast!)  Jeff's going to drive coz I don't know if I'd be able to drive home.  It's always something, isn't it?

Rain, Rain, Go Away

  It has been a cool, damp week.  So bad that today I actually told Jeff I was glad we didn't have camp any more coz it would be even more uncomfortable up there than it was here.  (And this was after the beautiful day we had early this week when an old friend posted a photo on Facebook of the beach there that had made me cry!) Today it poured at times...I know  we need the rain but come on now, it was the Baseball Hall of Fame's 75th birthday and they had a cake cutting ceremony scheduled for 11am outside on the front stairs. Nothing like a little rain with your birthday cake, huh?
  I worked half a day in the shop...for a variety of reasons...and the day went quickly.  It seemed to pour...really rain hard...every hour or so all afternoon and I was glad to get out and head for home.  A quick stop at Stewart's for gas made sure I'd make it without any problems.  Jeff and Fanny were waiting...Jeff walking around, checking the water-soaked boxes and Fanny sticking her head out the door...Jeff said looking for me.   We decided to go to Donna's for supper...quick and easy and the food is always good. When we got home I stared at the TV for awhile but found myself falling asleep so I decided it was time to play on the PC.  It's unusual not have any knitting to do...if it wasn't raining I could be mowing the lawn or maybe we'd have a fire in the outside firepit and be enjoying our new lawn furniture...metal stackable chairs with web seats that were on sale at WalMart ($15/chair).  Maybe I shouldn't complain but Thursday night tv is lousy!  I think I'll just give up and go to bed...at least I'll be warmer than I am sitting here.  I refuse to turn on the furnace. It's the principal of the matter...it's the middle of June!!!


   

Ah, Sweet Summer....

    The garden continues to be developed with more 4x4' boxes being added each week.  Jeff's decided to put narrow boxes along the sides of the bean tower and along the driveway, and I've asked for a box to replace the flower bed that has gone to weed ...and mosquitoes...besides the fire pit.  Today I bought 2 pots of million bells for the hanging baskets.  I'd like to get a couple more but all the greenhouse had was purple. We need more colors!  I finally got the lawn mowed all the way around the property.  Now I'll just have to start over again.  It is a never ending saga.
   I have to work in the shop this Friday and I'm trying to get 4 sweater sets and a couple of baseball hats finished to take down.  I just can't figure out how to knit and mow lawn at the same time.  Don't think a riding mower would help much either.  Maybe I just can't multi-function?!?