Don't Cry for Me, Suzy Homemaker

I am having the best summer evah. (Well, so far, at least, and now I've gone and thumbed my nose at fate.) Aside from one sweltering week, the temps have been amazing. The boys and I have been packing in the balcony time. The balcony, incidentally, has been prepared for Our Next President (ohpleaseohplease) should he decide to give a speech or stop by for tea or wish to sing a little something from "Evita" to the inhabitants of our street.

I've warned the neighbors that they might need to get used to the bunting (there's more on the side railings, too) not just through July 4, but straight through November.

If the weather holds this week, I'm going to bring the wheel up there to practice my spinning. I need to bone up for the classes I've signed up for, and it would be so lovely to do it outside. Just me, the cats, the fiber, some iced tea...

Speaking of iced tea, I have been drinking it by the gallon. Every other day I brew a big old jar of the stuff (mostly decaf bags of Luzianne with one high-test bag thrown in to add some depth of flavor) in the sunniest part of the backyard. (Very green, using solar power, dontcha think?) A few hours later, I transfer it to a pitcher, toss in some fresh mint from the garden and a few slices of orange and I am good to go. I am feeling a bit jittery, even with the decaf bags, so I think I may need to cut back a tiny bit.

I haven't finished any projects lately, but I've got two sweaters going (Ribby Pulli and Mr. Greenjeans), as well as some socks. I think I have everything I need to finally get going on my sewing projects, and the garden is thriving. I can't wait for those 14 tomato plants to start kicking out some fruit! This weekend, the niece and I are going to dye some sock yarn with Wilton dyes and Kool-Aid. We're going to rely on the power of the sun to set the color. One of her Christmas gifts will be socks made with the resulting yarn. I've been stencilling Obama shirts for friends.

Finally, on the horizon, my friend, Amy, emailed to let me know that their six little Romneys are being shorn today and she would like me to knit something for her son, Reid, from the fiber. Since my spinning skills are still in development, I've directed her to some processing companies and I'll knit him something from the resulting yarn.

Jeez, in just a year I've gone from urban warrior to being eyeball deep in domesticity. My Home Ec teacher never would have believed it.