Mid-August Blues

I always feel blue in mid-August. The summer is going too fast, with too much work and not enough time to do it all and still have lots of quiet time, knitting time, do-nothing time. If I steal the last three, there is guilt because I was raised not to waste time. (This computer thing gives me lots of guilty moments). And yet I know I have chosen this work. I don't need a huge garden, or 30 flower pots, or too many flower beds, or the acquaintance of the Alpaca Man, or a 60-foot strawberry patch, or all those raspberries.... But an excess of honest work has been the hallmark of my life. Maybe it was my pioneer upbringing, or the childhood poverty.
When I was teaching, the reality of the end of summer was even more pronounced. Teachers had to come back the Thurs. and Fri. before Labor Day for organizational meetings and Prayer Service. Although I loved teaching, I loved being home and with the kids even more. I used to get really really blue in those days.

As I'm composing this, I realize that it isn't the work done that's tiring and saddening, it's the unfinished stuff.

Much as I mourn the passing of summer, since I retired, I have developed a love of autumn. I never saw much of autumn, since the beginning of the school year was always so busy with long after-school hours. Now I am aware of the smells, the sights, the changes, and I love it. But not quite yet.

One thing I like to do is to go for a walk
and talk to my Maker about my stresses
and feelings, and thank Him for His
blessings. One of my favorite places is
the patch where the Angelica plants grow
(also known as Garden heliotrope). It looks
like Queen Anne's Lace, but is 5-6 feet tall.
If you sniff the flowers they stink, but in the evening they infuse the entire yard with the most heavenly scent.

Back to reality--if you look closely, you can see the Angelica amid the tenacious Canada Thistles. My hands have become so tough, I can pull Canada Thistle without gloves--no word of a lie!





Today we had new (wider) eavestroughs put on, along with a cover called "Gutter Guard". With all our trees it was a real chore to keep cleaning the gutters (they get dirty even if there is no rain), and we're not spring chickens any more. That will remove one summer chore from my list. (Or Kubota Man's list).

I've been stealing time. Here are the
Mary Maxim Bamboo socks in the
color "hyacinth". They are soooo
pretty. The dark line looks black, but is a soft brown. It blends in quite nicely, although in the picture it shrieks out. These are MINE!

And I've finished the fronts and back of honeycomb Sweater #2, in charcoal grey alpaca. Will finish most of a sleeve tonight.






This is the commissioned chenille
sweater that I've just finished. It is
for a lady who runs a local appliance repair shop and appliance outlet. She
donated a lot of yarn to our Prayer
Shawl Ministry, and some lovely quilt fabric remnants from which my friend Jeanet made a double-bed quilt which we raffled for our Women's League fundraiser. This sweater is a Mary Maxim kit. It worked up quickly, but shed a lot of dander, so I had a lot of sinus problems for a while. It was so furry, I couldn't see the individual stitches, so counting was horrendous. I'm glad it's done.
BTW you can just get a glimpse of a wall of my newly-renovated sewing room.

Alpaca Man came this afternoon and dropped off 2 big boxes of alpaca yarn (looks like worsted weight) in both black and white. Lots of designing to do now.

We've still had no rain. It takes the whole morning to water the potted trees and shrubs. Kubota Man has just about finished rebuilding the damaged greenhouse--just has to figure out how he wants to set up the chimneys, then we wait for calm days that the kids can all come home at the same time so we can put the plastic sheeting on, and finish everything off--clean up and wait till February, when we start up again.

Tomorrow I am going on a field trip with Mom and the Handi-Bus. We are going to Muttart Conservatories in Edmonton. This site consists of glass pyramids, each with a different eco-system environment: I don't remember them all, but there is a desert one, and I think a tropical one. You get the idea.

I have to start thinking about completing the deck renovations. Our deck is huge. In 1987 it started to be 8'x8', just a big porch at the back door on the east side of the house. While it was still in the planning stages, I thought another 16'x22' on the east side would make a nice sitting area (in full sun). So then I thought 8'x30' more along the north (front side) of the house would give us a nice shady spot. So Kubota Man, in fear of a house totally surrounded by decks, ordered the lumber. Now, we each have our own unique skill-sets. He is an excellent structural builder and framer--I have the patience and meticulousness for finishing work. So we did what we do best--divide the labor. He built the sub-structure (it is quite high off the ground) including the floor joists. I did the floor planks and the railings. In 1987 pressure treated wood was prohibitively expensive, so we used just spruce and kept it stained. Two years ago we replaced the decking and last summer I ripped off the rails, saved the decorative slats, and re-built the frames. Now the wood has dried, so I need to take the mill glaze off, and stain the whole thing, then replace the little slats. I'm looking forward to it being all finished. I will do it in stages: wash all the rails, stain. Wash all the floor boards, stain. Wash the fence under the whole deck. Stain. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ I'm worn out already, and I haven't even started yet. But at least I have the stain so I don't have to shop--my least favorite activity in the world.

Till next time: Grandmother and grandchild discussing a common interest are exactly the same age (Duane Birch)