Backyard crop

Picked another batch of green beans from my backyard garden.....no comparison to canned ones...another 12 hour work shift today..

oh and found a hostage in the hosta...

Thursday...

I walked 11,373 steps at work today - the American Heart Association goal is at least 10,000 daily - no problem there! Home by 4:30 (this was an extra shift) and worked on yet another baby blanket



while admiring this bright hibicus growing on my back patio.



I have found knitting with vintage Susan Bates nylon circular needles such a pleasant experience. They are seamless and lightweight....I have purchased two lots of them on ebay recently. Not sure what sort of circulars I'll use for my two sweater projects - I'm thinking the nylon ones if I can find the correct size. We'll see...

Day off....

Started the day off (after an early morning call asking me to come in to work extra) watching Knitty Gritty and working on the Bookcrossing afghan. I have finished sewing together the squares and am working on the crochet trim ......wow... almost done!

Meet my running buddy for a brisk 5.4 mile trail walk. Chestnut Ridge trail is part of the Roanoke Valley horse trail and much horse fertilizer is evident along the trail. I enjoyed the brisk hike and the opportunity to catch up with a good friend. We also startled a mother turkey with at least one baby - I didn't know that turkeys could fly so well.



I've spotted these wild strawberries several times this summer but have yet to take a good picture of them. I remember picking these as a child and daring each other to eat them. Someone ( I don't remember who) told us these berries were 'snake berries' and were poisonous so I don't recall ever eating them.




I made a quick run downtown for a 2 cheese veggie sub at On the Rise and picked up some peaches and tomatoes. Back home for a second episode of Knitty Gritty with one of my favorite knitters, Annie Modesitt....Off to work tomorrow for four in a row....

Random happenings and chores...

Ran/walked for one hour in the neighborhood - whoa! hot already before 11a!


Dropped off a load of DH's clothing (with his approval) and the yarn at the Goodwill Store...

Picked green beans and new potatoes from my little backyard garden - planning a yummy dinner of green beans, new potatoes and locally grown corn ...I'll also have a grilled portobella mushroom and my DH will have a .....steak....

New Camera!

Received a new Sony Cyber-shot W series with 7.2 megapixels today. My old camera was a Sony cyper-shot and I liked it just fine. I don't want anything complicated ....just something to snap photos and enjoy. I ordered it via Amazon with overnight delivery which I figure is more economical than me driving all over town looking for it. Not only do I consider the cost of gas but I only consider the value of my own time and what else I could be doing with that time - so internet research and shopping seems like the best for me.

I've decided - no more knitting with yarn I don't like. I bought a bunch of Lion Homespun last year but was frustrated that how ratty the WIP would look by the time I bound it off. So off to the Goodwill store it goes! There is just too much good inexpensive wool/acrylic yarn that knits up wonderfully and looks great....

Scenes from the garden as I play with my new camera....


Lavender


Sage

Cucuzza Squash seedling


Oregano


Cat (wheat) grass


Tomatoes


Rosemary


Pineapple sage

Back to work tomorrow....need to continue learning about the camera....

Finishing my 5 days off work by completing yet another pair of socks - ankle socks in Lorna's Shepherd sockweight - I knitted the toes with a double strand to wear them longer. I'll be digging through my stash for more sock yarn in the next day or two!

Great start to the week...

Exercise today was pushing the lawnmower and pulling weeds....then a quick trip to Yarn Theory to meet Ann McCauley. What a delightful knitter AND a fabulous shop. I plan to return to Bedford to explore the downtown area, take pictures with my new camera, have another coffee at Cup a Joe and shop for yarn. My old camera fell in the river over the weekend - I fished it out but it's ruined. Oh, well, I was planning to buy a new one anyway...

Creek Canoe Weekend

Headed down Friday evening to meet DH at his friend's place on Craig's Creek. Several of his high school friends will also be there - I'm amazed at the longevity of their friendships. When I left high school I never looked back and had no friendships to maintain....I now see people I attended high school with and we catch up but that is all...well, my class is planning a 30 year reunion this year and I plan to go. Time does seem to heal those high school wounds...

Friday night was cooking out and the guys played cards - let's just say I went to bed early. Something about drinking cold beverages sitting along the creekside...Saturday morning we had a hearty breakfast at Maw and Paw's in Eagle Rock and then on the James River for a day of canoeing! I hope to be able to recover the pictures from the memory stick... and I was able to! CVS has a great digital camera photo service for the novice picture taker - I was able to plug in the memory card from my ruined camera into their picture printer and copy selected pictures onto a CD and only cost $2.99. Good deal! Here's the last pictures taken with my old Sony cyper-shot....

I spotted this box turtle close by our camp site. Did you know that box turtles can live up to 120 years in the wild? He crawled into the weeds along the creek bank after I took this picture - I guess the commotion was just too much for him.


These shasta daisies were growing along the corner of the gravel parking lot close to the place we put our canoes into the James River.

The river was quite muddy due to the hard rains that we had experienced earlier in the week. The rains dumped plenty of water but little of it soaked into our rock hard clay soil - most ran into the rivers and streams.


A view of the river towards the small community of Eagle Rock...


We floated to the riverbank for a bathroom break .... I spotted this frog on my short hike to find a private bathroom spot. The presence or absence of frogs is an indication of the health of the environment - they serve as a kind of "canary in the coal mine" in the countryside.

Shortly after I took this picture we turned over the canoe and the camera fell into the river....the rest of the weekend was relaxing. I slept soundly Saturday night and got up early and cooked breakfast for all the guys after they had a late night of playing cards and trying to pretend they were still 21. I believe the greasy bacon and egg sandwiches were appreciated....