Thursday, July 16, 2009

How My Garden Grows

I feel I should preface this post with the fact that I have a black thumb. I kill every plant that comes into our house within a week, and sometimes kill other people's plants that ask me to water them while they're away. So while my little container garden might not look like much, it is a HUGE improvement over my past attempts. First, though, let's have a little funeral for Mr. Tomato. He just couldn't survive the 27 straight days of rain we had, a.k.a. "June".

But his best buddy Basil is a rock star on my deck! I can't believe this is my plant. Basil must like to be forgotten and ignored:

My jalapeno is hanging in there. I have a few little flower buds that just might turn into peppers! Crossed fingers!

Then there's my herb garden. We have around a 50% success rate here. The sage & tarragon are doing great, but the cilantro looks like a random weed, and the rosemary is the same size it was a month ago. I don't use that much rosemary anyway. But the cilantro is a let down:

As for knitting, I finished something!! It's just socks, but they're the best things to knit in the summer, IMO. Look how much bigger my left foot is. Crazy!

The yarn is Malabrigo sock and the pattern is Knitty's Universal toe-up. I'm going to have to weigh the yarn to be sure, but I think I can make another complete pair of these with the leftover yarn. What a bargain!
Did everyone see the latest Harry Potter movie yet? We went last night (I wore my Hermione sweater! In July! Luckily it was only 70 degrees out, and the theater was freezing of course.) I have a BIG issue with a certain scene, but otherwise loved it. Don't want to spoil it for anyone, so I won't say what, but you'll know when you watch it.
Lastly, someone named Jen asked me a question on my last post, and I have to answer it here because blogger doesn't give me email addresses, so I couldn't write back to her. The question was:

So, why do you think gen x has brought knitting back into style?

I think that the women of the baby boomer generation had to prove that women are equal to men in ability, intelligence, etc, so crafts like knitting got set aside for a while. Now that a path is paved for us gen-x-ers in the equality arena, we have the luxury of exploring what our grandmothers' hobbies were rather than our grandfathers. Obviously this isn't an all-encompassing statement. I know plenty of baby boomers that knit, sew, cross stitch, and never stopped doing those things when they were "out of style," but in general is all I mean. The thing I love the most about the new generation of knitters is that there is no stereotype for the new knitter. Some of us are career women, some are stay at home moms, some are yuppies, some are hippies. There's no way to spot us in a crowd unless we're wearing our awesome hand knits!

6 comments:

robin said...

Wow, great post - so many things to comment on.

First off - I also have a black thumb - I need some plants that like to be ignored too. Totally hear ya on the "all rain, all the time" this summer - what is up with this weather??

The socks are a pretty color - I would never have thought your feet were different sizes unless you pointed it out, but I guess I see it now. My right foot is slightly larger than my left.

Did not see Harry Potter yet, but maybe I can twist Jim's arm since he is on the kissing up/agreeable bandwagon lately after being b&tched at.

LOVE your answer to the Gen X question - couldn't have said it better. To add to what you said, my opinion is that some Baby Boomers think that sewing/knitting and "domestic" activities are the tools of oppression and seem to be looking for ways that we are being oppressed - I think 'cause we haven't dealt that much with what they did, we can be more laid back about it and not feel like we have to make a point that we're equal all the time - it's just assumed. At least I feel that way.

NutmegOwl said...

Well said, my friend.

Great job on the garden! Indoors, I, too, have a purple thumb. Outside is a whole other story. Lots of pesto in your future!

Lovely sox, too!

Knittymuggins said...

The herbs look great! And I love your new socks too :) I'll keep that in mind as I have some Malabrigo sock yarn I just purchased.

I cannot *wait* to see the new HP (maybe tomorrow) and will keep any eye out for that annoying scene :)

Love your answer to your commenter! I totally agree.

knittymuggins

Karen said...

Your feet look the same size to me. Pretty socks!
It's crap shoot for me with plants, indoors or out. My tomato plants look awful but they're giving me fruit anyway. Works for me.

Believe it or not, I have not read any HP books or seen any HP movies. Gasp!

Marjorie said...

The socks are beautiful. I'm a Malabrigo newbie, and just got my first skein. I hope mine turn out as nicely as yours did.

Everyone is having trouble with tomatoes this year (at least in the Northeast). I'm surprised mine have still survived. So don't base your success or failure on that unfortunate tomato.

And as a Boomer who was "in the closet" when it came to knitting in my youth, I am so thrilled that the Gen-X'ers have embraced knitting. You've breathed new life into the craft and the results have been amazing. In a way, had knitting been acceptable for all those years, I'm not sure we would have reached this point with all the innovative designs that abound. I think rediscovering knitting after its period of dormancy gave you (all) the sense that anything is possible. And that isn't a bad thing.

Aimee D said...

Hey, just realizing you posted on your blog. My basil in tanking as well as my cilantro. I think my cilantro grew to fast ans started choking out itself. My rosemary is growing like crazy, but I am giving it a minimal amount of water compared to everything else. I think that is the key. Like you, I don't do too much with the rosemary, just add it to chicken.