Growing

I'm back. I've been intending to blog for some time now, but have been waiting for one of two things to happen: plant some of my vegetable garden or finish Leon's jacket. Can you guess which one got done?

Here in Seattle we have had what seems to be a prolonged stretch of gray and wet. Ha ha, you say, isn't Seattle always like that? We'll yes, it can be both gray and wet quite often, but we do usually get a break of at least dry and sometimes dry and sunny in March. (We are grateful and awed when the holy trinity of weather happens in March: dry, sunny and WARM.) Well, on Friday the wet held off long enough to finally motivate me get to the garden soil and start some seeds for the flower and vegetable beds.



For vegetables I've started salad greens, cauliflower, and watermelons. Last year I had no luck with my watermelon starts; this year I plan on direct sowing as well and see which way works better. Emmett would LOVE some home-grown watermelons! I plan on purchasing 2 tomato plants and a pepper plant at the farmer's market sometime in May. Since I don't have space to grow several tomatoes in multiple varieties, its actually more cost effective to buy 1 each of two types already started; so that's how we'll go this year.

I stopped by West Seattle Nursery this week and was able to buy seed potatoes, onion sets, as well as starts for broccoli, brussel sprouts, and cabbage. Friday I got the potatoes in the ground: 4 plants of a type called Russian banana. I've never grown potatoes before, so it should be a big learning curve to figure out how to do it. I think Emmett will love digging them up, though.

After that, the rain started back up and didn't let up all Friday through Saturday. Ugh. I think we saw 37 F midday on Saturday, which seemed so cold! But this morning, yippee, the sun was out. Ryan and I practically ran outside to get going. (Thanks to Grandma for being here and watching the boys.) Ryan and I first got a new raised bed installed and ready for drip irrigation. Unfortunately, we didn't have enough garden soil to fill the bed.



Later on in the day, Ryan brought home enough soil to fill it. Since it is in a pretty shady spot in our vegetable terrace, I plan on using this new bed as our lettuce bed. We were also able to get the onions, b.sprouts, broccoli, and cabbage planted. I'm going to try my best this season to really keep things moving in the garden so that as crops finish out (like all I planted today), I'll get new things in the ground. If the rain continues to hold off and all things work to my favor, Emmett and I will get out this week and plant lettuce, carrots, peas and beets.

It feels so good to have the garden started! Now if I can just get to the rest of the garden, because it is a mess.

And lastly, I'm proud to say that Leon's jacket is finished and blocking! I'll write more about it soon; in the interim, here are a couple of teaser photos before it got buttons and a wash.



yummy, yummy toes in sunshine, outside!



my sweet guy.

Progress

I'm really trying to get this little sweater done. Leon has sweatshirts and jackets, even a couple of sweaters, just no hand knits. It's gotta change.



As of mid-day yesterday, I had completed the body up to the arm holes and had begun work on the right front. Since the photo, I've completed that front and moved on to the back. I'd like to see this section off of the needles and progress made on the sleeves in the next couple of days. We'll see about that.

The pattern is still enjoyable, with the exception of the buttonhole directions. They are fashioned after a style written by Elizabeth Zimmerman - and I just didn't get it. Maybe I've made them right, maybe I haven't, but they look like buttonholes, so I'm not going back.



Looking closely, you may see the buttonhole in the midst of all of that seed-stitch.

I've got 45 minutes before we pick up Emmett from school, and Leon is asleep in the swing. I better get knitting.