May.  I haven't gotten used to writing the date with a 5 in front of it and May is almost gone already.

I wish I could make a list of many exciting things we have done in May but in all reality, we have done nothing out of the ordinary.

I did get to experience my first rose.  Isn't it pretty?  All three bushes are now almost covered with blossoms (and if I weren't running late this morning, I would have taken a photo of them on my way out the door to work).  They are so pretty.  I love the way the little bushes are sprouting out all over the place willy-nilly.  They will look all wild and natural and not manicured. 

And now that I've seen how easy they were to obtain and to take care of, I may want to go and get some more. 

Our weather has been typically springlike and odd.  One day will be 86 F and sunny and the next will be in the low 50's and windy and cold.  At one point, we had both the space heater and the window fan in the bedroom.  Usually when one comes out, the other one goes away.  This year we're just not sure which will be needed on any given day.

I have been knitting with the Deschutes  (60silk/40merino) singles I bought at MDSW and have been loving the feel of it.  The Fir Cone Shawl is huge (as you can see) and is a shetland style shawl.  The center square is knit first and then the edge stitches are picked up and the borders are knitted.  One lace pattern for the center and then three different sections on the edges.

It's a sport weight yarn and so it grows more quickly than a laceweight.  There are 12 repeats of a 16 row pattern (which is easily memorized) and I  am through 6.  Look how odd it looks.  That's the back and it looks like an egg carton or some of that sound proofing material they use in sound proof rooms.  It's mindless enough to be able to work on it while watching some television but complicated enough to require some attention so it's not boring.

It's also eating up the yarn so fast that I called the farm that sold it and ordered two more skeins, just to be on the safe side.  The woman, Sunny, who owns the farm was so pleasant.  I emailed her on a Friday night and she emailed me back early Saturday morning and when I called Saturday afternoon, I got her on the phone and she said she would try to get it into Saturday's mail.  I said there was no hurry and Monday would be fine.  Nice lady, good service, beautiful yarn.

 

This was my other fiber purchase that weekend.  It's Coopworth roving in the Violet colorway.  I love violets and it thrills me to see them popping up in the middle of the lawn.  This looks just like a patch of violets. 

It's Memorial Day weekend coming up and I tacked on a vacation day at the end so I could have a bit of a longer weekend.  We have no big plans.  Peter Kevin is planning to man the table for the Wood Workers' Guild on Saturday at their town's Fair.  I told him I would bring a spinning wheel and keep him company-as long as there is no rain.

Sunday we are planning a picnic at Valley Forge Park with the girls and their families.  Valley Forge is an important part of the American revolution story and seems like a fitting place to picnic.  The rest of the weekend will probably fly by in a haze of chores and relaxing. 

Happy Hump Day to everyone.  I'm off to a mandatory 2 hour "compliance" training.  Every year.  2 hours.  Boooorrrrinnnngggg. 

But Mandatory.