My elbow tendinitis flare-up is persisting so I’m only limping along with a commissioned knitting project right now.  So, you get a list of the non-knitting things I/we have been doing!

1) The garden!  I’m going to make a batch of canned pickles this weekend (as opposed to the refrigerator pickles I made a few weeks ago) since the cucumbers are still coming.  And I also picked and froze these:

We have beans coming out of our ears now!  And zucchini is not far behind.  The peppers and the eggplant are not doing well for some reason. Lots of flowers, no fruit.  Except for one lone pepper.  But, hey! How about those hydrangeas from our yard??? So pretty.

2) We’ve also been eating lots of grilled veggies from the store, since this is the season for grilling.  Almost all we cook is on the grill this time of year:

3) Our beautiful weather (up til this week and now it is 85 and HUMID) has been great for opening windows, sitting in the kitchen in the morning to have tea and watch the birds at the feeder:

4) I have to tell you about my Thermos Vacuum Insulated 24 Ounce Stainless Steel Hydration Bottle, Charcoal! (<— affiliate link)  I just used it yesterday and I was reminded about how awesome it is.  My friend Chrissy gave it to me for my birthday a couple of years ago.  Yesterday, I put ice and iced tea in my bottle at 8am.  I drank it throughout the day (it holds a lot) and it was icy cold all day long.  At 9pm (thirteen hours later) I dumped out a bunch of the ice that was still in there! This is hands down my most favorite water bottle ever.  Just saying.  (I highly recommend it, can you tell?)

5) We also made our yearly trip to the Park Playhouse in Albany to see the musical Ragtime.  It was a great show.

That picture was taken with my hands way up in the air.  Here is what I really saw:

She was very tall.  Eventually she got tired and started slouching, so I could see better without leaning so much!  (Ok, I’m probably exaggerating a tiny bit. I could see pretty well.)

5) I can hardly believe it but the doodlebugs turned six last week!  Paul and I collaborated and made them a homemade cornhole game:

Unfortunately, I was the only one able to attend the party since Paul was stuck at home fixing an unexpected shower leak.  UGH!  The good news is that he is my most favorite handy guy in the world and he fixed it!

6) We went with our friends Elaine and Steve to Naumkeag House in Stockbridge, Mass.  A beautiful home built in 1896 with wonderful gardens:

We picnicked on the grounds and it was a beautiful, fun day.

7) Just because I’m not knitting much, doesn’t mean I’m not THINKING about it.  Or OBSESSING about it.  As usual.

I’m obsessing thinking about getting this set of square interchangeable knitting needles:

Options Foursquare Majestic Needle Set

Queue the excuse for buying them: The square-ness is supposed to be easier on your hands etc. (and therefore elbows….)

Also, I’m dying to knit these patterns:

Cloud Nine Ballet Slippers

The Girl From the Grocery Store Shawl (because it is by Joji Locatelli and I love her.)

Leoch Shawl  (because it’s pretty and different and has a couple tassles!)

8) And this is hilarious:

How is YOUR summer going?