Picture-heavy post!

I keep hoping that some Saturday, I'll get up, have some coffee, and enjoy a leisurely morning of blogging and petting kitties and maybe watching cartoons. Then I remember that I'm chairing the committee that's planning a huge party for this coming Saturday. Maybe after that...

Anyway, here's what I've been up to. I've been doing some gardening. Below, we have a watermelon that I planted next to the back porch, just for the hell of it. So far I haven't managed to kill it--yay!

Next is a shot of the whole garden, early in the morning.

In the garden there are tomatoes. Some of them are red! Anne says they're very tasty. (You can also see the cherry tomato plant behind this one--it's starting to make fruit, too.)

And here's one that's about the size of a small plum. It will grow up to be a big tomato!

My snow pea seeds sprouted, and now they're in a huge tangle. So far, they've made exactly one flower. I gave them a stick to climb, so maybe they'll make more flowers, and Anne and I won't have to split one single snow pea!

Anne's sarrano peppers are growing like gangbusters...

...but they're not doing quite as well as the cayennes. These are two of the nine plants. (Leeks are in the background.)


The purple beans are making purple flowers! (The green beans are also making green flowers, but the purple ones are more photogenic.)


And some corn has sprouted!

The cabbage, broccoli, and cauliflower don't look too different from when I planted them. I'm thinking about going in and burying them deeper (or just piling some dirt up around the stems) to encourage them to make new roots and expand. You can see that the caterpillars thought the plant in front was very tasty. Behind the cauliflower on the left, you can see our teeny tiny spinach. It's trying!

The herbs are doing well, too.

And the blackberry bushes are growing. The one on the left is pretty bushy, but the one on the right is growing outward with one long branch, for the most part--you can see it actually exiting the frame.


I haven't been knitting as much as I did before Pride planning really heated up, but I did finally manage to finish my Sock Roulette sock!


There on the left is all of the yarn I had left. It's only a few yards. I was sweating toward the end! This sock needs to be blocked, so it looks a little odd. Even so, I think it'll still be slightly smaller than its mate--but given the amount of yarn I finished with, it's probably good I wasn't too hung up on having an exact match. Both socks fit, and they look pretty, and that's what matters.

I have a minor obsession with crocheting potholders, though. I've made 4, and I'm working on #5. The pattern I'm using is very cool, and produces a nice two-layer potholder. (Bonus: it came from the website of a fiber arts studio in Rudolph, WI!)


Finally, at long last, here are cats.


Pippin is getting shaved on Wednesday. I felt like I was keeping him pretty well brushed, but then all of a sudden he got all matted. Poor guy!

George is adorable, as always.

And Eve has decided that my bed is actually HER bed. I have the scratches on my hand to prove it--she doesn't like it when I get too close to her, even if I'm sleeping. This might call for some reassertion of dominance...