TGIJ!

And yes! Spring is finally here in New England. :) Some years I can start my garden in early May, but it was fairly cold here right up until Memorial Day. This week the temps are in the 70s and 80s, so maybe we'll just go straight into summer ... which is okay with me.

I decided a few weeks ago not to do a big garden this year. The biggest reason is my back, but since I'm planning to spend a lot of time in Connecticut this summer helping my parents out, having a garden adds more to-do items to my list. Instead, I asked O what he would really like to grow this year, and he said, "Watermelon!" Thus fully half of the fenced-in garden is dedicated to watermelon. I put in a few herbs (lavender, basil, rosemary), and then built a raised garden:



I basically followed the instructions I found on The Crafty Gemini (video was especially helpful). My husband let me borrow his electric power drill, and once I got the hang of drilling holes and screwing in the deck screws, putting the bed together was a piece of cake. The only difficult part of the operation was buying wood at Home Depot, where I was ignored and then talked down to, I suspect because of my chromosomal makeup. Time to look for a new place to buy lumber! Also, I want my own power drill. :)

This week O has been helping me fill this sucker with dirt and topsoil. I had hoped to get the soil to the top of the bed, but I think it's good enough to grow kale and lettuce. Next summer I'm going to build a couple more beds using some scrap lumber.

Knitting

I finished my Mind the Gap socks a couple weeks ago. Nothing much to say about the pattern (btw, when does a pattern become your pattern? I've knit these plain vanilla socks so many times with a few personal tweaks that I don't even need instructions.) The yarn was a pleasure to work with. I bought it through Trailing Cloud's Etsy shop, thanks to Kristie's post some months ago. I'm pleased I got the stripes to match on both socks, although I ran into orange striping while "kitchenering" one sock.



I had started on a plain vanilla cardigan last month, but today decided to rip it out and use the Cascade 220 yarn to knit Andi Satterlund's Miette cardigan. I need more stylish sweaters, and Miette fits the bill. I also ordered some yarn through WEBS to knit another Kate Davies' owl sweater for the fall and two skeins of hemp yarn for summer kerchiefs.

Weight

My weight did not budge in May despite my working out at the gym and zealously watching my food intake. That said, my pants are definitely getting looser. A couple weeks ago I bought a pair of size 8 jeans, which I thought I'd be able to fit into by the end of June. Well, I ended up fitting into them this weekend and wore them comfortably all day in Newport! So what I think is happening is that I'm burning fat and gaining muscle, which doesn't change the number on the scale (muscle weighs more than fat) but muscle takes less room that fat, thus why I seem to feel smaller.

At any rate, I'm still heavier than I'd like to be -- my body still has visible pockets of fat -- so I've made some tweaks to my diet, instituted some new habits (drinking plenty of water!), and set a few goals for the month. Stay tuned ...

Saying goodbye

My brother Matt finished out his year at the International Yacht Restoration School in Newport, RI, and is presently driving out west to Oregon to fight fires with the forest service. Here are some pictures of last weekend's boat launch ceremony. Yes, that's my crazy brother swimming in 58 degree water, towing his sailboat into harbor. Such a show off!



[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500"] Matt is talking to John, who bought "Matt's boat." The sailboat will be moored at a local yacht club to be used by John's children and grandchildren.[/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500"] I loved the look of concentration on Matt's face. He's an excellent sailor![/caption]