Odds and Ends

Of course, today's harvest is the first priority. I harvested our first edamame today! We'll do a taste tonight and see if I got the harvesting anywhere near right. If I did, I need to harvest a lot more tomorrow. The lone purple bean is the third we've gotten and we probably won't get very many this year. I really like planting the corn in bunches with squash between but I think I'll just trellis beans and peas somewhere next year. The bowl is full of turnips below the other veggies - another 6 lbs. today and that bed is finally feeling thinned enough that the remaining ones really have room to grow and the parsnips have a chance at some light.

Snacking through the garden today, I came across about another 10 pods of peas and 2 more ripe cherry tomatoes. I poked some more pea seeds into the now almost empty pea bed to see if I can get another crop this fall. Left some space to maybe even poke a few more in in a couple of weeks as well. I missed so many pods that I had lots and lots of seed peas from the first crop, so I figured, why not? I'm compulsively not wanting my beautiful beds to be empty.

We're planting the "winter/fall garden" this weekend in the two beds we moved that are now sitting empty - spinach, beets, broccoli, parsnips, kale, and cauliflower. The cauliflower is purple and I was thinking how funny it is to grow purple cauliflower and white eggplants. The world's turned upside down!

The tomatoes are really beginning to show some color here and there and I've got my eye on a decent number of romas that look like they all might ripen close enough together that I can do a batch of marinara. The number of greens is truly staggering though. I've been reading all these bloggies for places further east that are getting smote down with late blight, which sounds truly awful, so I keep having my fingers crossed.

Last night we went and roamed the mall for a while because we were "buggy". Trying on clothes there I realized it wasn't as much fun as it has been, largely due to the 10 pounds I've put on since I stopped running last summer. I've been unhappy with it but that really brought home how unhappy and haven't found the motivation to really take care of it so I made a silly little deal with myself. When I get it lost, I will be allowed to get a top that I want from Banana Republic (sorry, no link, inexplicably not on their website). I'd better get going though since it won't be in stock for more than a couple of months. Got in a 3 mile run this morning and then worked in the yard for a couple of hours, so as long as I watch what I eat, I should be started on the right track.

I also got the new fall issue of Interweave Knits while we were there. The fall issue is always the best and there are 3 sweaters in it that I want for myself - Slanting Gretel Tee, Trellis and Vine Pullover, and Farmer's Market Cardigan. I've got some pretty slightly variegated blue yarn I bought at the Brown Sheep factory store that I think might be perfect for the Trellis and Vine pullover. I really want to use my Baby Bamboo for the Gretel Tee but I fear that it's too heavy. I'd definitely have to redo the pattern instructions for a different gauge (It's 104 yds/50 g instead of the 165/5o that the original pattern is written for.) but I fear that the look would go awry. Might have to knit a sample swatch and feel the drape of it. I haven't figured out what would work best from my stash for that cardigan, although it's my favorite. Not quite enough of the Brown Sheep for it. I always harvest clean things into my pockets (blueberries, peas, cherries, etc.) and so the big pockets amuse me. Curse you alluring fall issue!

I'm about 1/2 done with one of the custom sweater orders I currently have. It's just a vest but it's a vintage pattern that requires edging to be knit and sewn on at every edge and all sorts of other crazy finishing. Not to mention that it's on size 2 needles. Should be pretty snazzy when it's finished though.
Looks like I'd better get to work. :)