Harvesting The Garden

 Yesterday was a lovely sunny day with a high of 26.8C (humidex 30C). This morning it is clear and 13.5C. Today is suppose to be a mix of sun, clouds, and showers with a high of 27C (humidex 31C).

Lifestyle

I chose to go outside and do garden work first as it was getting warm and humid. I started off pulling the garlic and I am pleased with the crop. 

Most of the garlic is good size and there are a few small ones. I will keep the small ones and family gets the big ones. It is now drying so I can cut the tops off and bag them. A few weeks before they can be used. While pulling them, the air was very garlicky smelling which I inhaled and enjoyed. 

Next up I picked and pulled the peas. Not too bad a crop seeing the deer had trimmed them twice. I also picked tomatoes. Family gets the peas and the small tomatoes and I will keep the large one. There are a lot of tomatoes yet to ripen so we will be eating them until the frost comes. 

I went inside after picking those and washed them ready to deliver today. It was getting warm and I needed to cool off. The beans were still wet with dew. 

While I waited for the beans to dry off, I did laundry and put away a lot of items from our trip. I got the laundry folded and it's ready to put away. It was time to go back out and pick the beans. 

The beans didn't get pulled as they are blooming again. I will watch them and pick again in 3 weeks. There weren't as many as I had hoped for as the deer had pruned them hard the first time.

I had a stir fry last night and I added both beans and peas to it. I also had a small cucumber sliced up and it was so fresh compared to the store bought ones. There are quite a few cucumbers coming on the plants. 

I succeeded in staying up until 8:30 pm. I did have a slump in the afternoon but pushed through it. I am almost back to our time now which is good. I am starting to think about what I need to do with the first minor job being to empty the dehumidifier in the basement. The other is to start a grocery list of items I need but was too tired to see when I went grocery shopping on Saturday. 

Sewing

I laundered the strawberry fabric and decided to start on making the Strawberry Shortcake outfit. 

The fabric:

The pattern:

I cut out the under dress and got the bodice part done to the buttonholes. 

It fits the doll nicely and the instructions are well written to this point. 

I dug out Kit's shoes that she wore when I bought her. They are perfect for this outfit. 

The dress will take longer as there is ruching to be done on the sleeves. I see lots of hand basting on it which is fine. 

Knitting

I had enough energy to knit last night. I picked up the gusset stitches and started to knit them. I was slow as I needed to keep track of when to decrease and when not to. I was tired and didn't want to make a mistake. 

I am pushing myself to get them done so I can start another project. A doll's sweater. 

Thoughts

    The humidity wasn't as bad as the day before. The humidex was only about 4C higher than the temperature. The wind came up and it felt good when working outside. I am assuming it will be like this for the next several days. 

    I had a few spells where I was tired and a bit weepy. Part is emotional from getting overly tired and feeling like I wasn't the best traveller and part was adjusting to being at home. I kept busy knowing it would help me get over the emotions I was feeling. 

    I checked the lawn and it needs some reseeding due to cinch bug damage. I will have to phone and have the company do it and an application of lime. I did giggle looking at my lovely lawn and thinking how much nicer the Halmstad BK pitch's grass was. 

    I went back onto my eating plan. I didn't gain weight on the trip which was good. But I do need to loose the weight I gained before going to Sweden. It is back to planning and tracking what I eat. I have lost 1.5 lbs since coming home. Progress is being made. 

Today

I am going to do a bit of housework, put away laundry, and plan my dinner this morning. This afternoon, I want to layout the dress so I can plan what I need to buy to make the hat. I would like to get the skirt on the underdress if possible. Tonight I will knit on the socks. I am easing my way back to doing more each day. I know I will have at least one spell where I will be lagging in energy today. 

Until the next time.................................................................