first eggplant

first successful eggplant harvest! this year i abandoned the backyard garden - despite the raised bed, it was doomed by many factors, including a paucity of sun and a presence of a grazing dog. DH cleared some scruffy looking verbenas away from a patch of the south side of our house, outside dixie's territory, and i'm hopeful for some zucchini, tomatoes (upside down), peppers, cucumbers, scarlet runner beans, and squash.

DH made these recipes from the eggplant:
- the "eggplant caviar" was a refreshing alternative to baba ghanoush, which i never seem to have the right ingredients for.
- the hot & sour curried eggplant that won a recent episode of top chef was quite bright (probably from all those limes/lemons) and an outstanding side dish. couldn't quite eat a whole plate of it though and find it a satisfying meal on its own - maybe it was the heat or maybe it was the citrus.

another friend moves too far away

"Good friends are hard to find, difficult to leave, and impossible to forget."
- G. Randolf

and so the descent begins

in one of our seattle houses, we shared a duplex with a crazy landlady, and one of her more minor peculiarities was that she had a penchant for odd garden ornaments. (we found the 3 foot creatures looking right into our window a bit creepy.) today i found my first garden kitsch and i must admit i'm beginning to see the appeal.

(this plant, by the way, is citronella "the natural mosquito repellent." not sure of the efficacy of one plant against the hordes, but hey anything is worth a try.)

a visit from a great friend

in friendship, let there be laughter



and the sharing of pleasures



for in the dew of little things,



the heart finds its morning and is refreshed.

- kahlil gibran

happy fourth of july!

a ball of cylinders

i love this ball.

knitted from 6 stockinette strips and woven together. knitters might note that stockinette curls on itself; this pattern takes advantage of that, and the strips effectively become squishy cylinders. the length is short enough so that when carefully woven together, the volume created by the curl creates the substance of the ball. no stuffing required.

so the ball is infinitely squishable and (theoretically) can always spring back to its original shape. it's a perfect little knitted gift to make for a toddler boy, which is a hard demographic to knit for. and it took just a couple of days of easy knitting.


a couple of months ago i went to a wedding on the east coast and had a too-brief visit with my college roommate. this ball was a present for her 2 year old son.

pattern: Braided Ball
yarn: Caron Simply Soft Brites

daisies for you

our front step is overgrown with giant daisies. i can think of worse fates.