Sweaty & Sun-Burned

Hubby, the youngest child and I went down to Waterfront Park in downtown Portland. Man, was that place packed with people. Well, the Blues Festival is going on down there as well as all of the 4th of July festivities. Add in some 95 degree heat and the sunshine...

You'll have to click on the photos to view the full size.

I took the first photo while laying on a blanket in the park. You can just see the Willamette river and the park's walkway.

Here is a closer view of the Willamette River. I wanted to jump in...it was just THAT hot. I refrained...and got a nice sun burn instead. OUCH!



All of those boats in the water there are getting a nice view of the Blues Festival. Perfect boating weather, of course...




Another view from the park, towards the Portland. Not sure what building that is? With all of those satellites on top I was thinking it was one of the local news stations. Any ideas? Beats me.


We even encountered Lady Liberty...sweating her silver make up off. That's Miss Hannah (the youngest) giving her a dollar for the photo. Clever idea...the woman was making pretty good money there in her up-turned hat.





Miss Hannah catching some rays. She was not thrilled that I took a photo of her. I swear, the older Han gets the more I see my sister in her. A dark-haired version of her, anyway. She has the same smile...I swear.


Well, the last photo...Hubby and I together, a rare photo. Okay, I admit it's a bad photo of me. Like I said it was mid-90's, sweaty, hot and I had just ran through the Salmon Spring fountain with Hannah. So, I was more than a little damp. The sun was in my eyes too. Oh well.

We were going to stay for the fireworks, but with the heat and the sun burn...forget it. There was no way I could have made it to 10 pm. We headed home after having dinner at Carl's Jr. downtown. I am now sweating my ass off in my apartment, but at least I can lounge around in my under wear if I wanna...Nyah!

Late To Blog Today

Another hot day has passed here. I'm exhausted and achey. The heat seems to suck every drop of energy I have. I've been tired ALL day. I hate the heat. Tomorrow is another mid-90's day around here. I just have to survive until Monday. I think it will cool down to the 70's at least.

So, when it gets THIS hot I don't knit as much as I normally do. I did manage a few rounds on the Alice Lace Shrug, this morning. I also knitted a few rounds on my Chickami. You see, my attention span is really short when I'm sweaty.

Now that it has cooled off to a nice mid-70's tonight, I am knitting on my Cozy. Remember it? I've had it on the needles for a while. I haven't worked on it as much as I would like...but it's still going, at least. S-L-O-W-L-Y. I do still love the yarn, the color and the pattern.

It's so hot in my living room that the cats don't have the energy to fight. I took a photo yesterday evening of all three cats in the same room (with the oldest daughter, Taelor, on the laptop) and not even a hiss or a growl out of any of them. So, Pixie is in the left window. Phoebe is in the right window and Mr. Phinnegan is patiently waiting his turn on the floor. The poor kitties are hot.

Yup, that's about all I have to share for tonight. No one has done much of anything around here today. I did clean the kitchen and cook dinner in my 90 degree apartment, but that's about all for me. Hubs, the youngest daughter and I are heading downtown tomorrow for the 4th of July festivities. We were going to go today, but changed it to tomorrow. I will take my digital camera and share photos from our adventures, downtown...

Toodles and have a pleasant holiday.

M-E-L-T-I-N-G!!!!

~whine~ It's so hot here, today! ~whine~

I don't have the energy for a real blog entry. You know, photos and witty writing. Portland is having a heat wave for the next few days. I think it will cool off a bit by Sunday. Who know for sure? I'm miserable and hot! The cats are all miserable and hot too.

It got up to 96 + in Portland this afternoon. My living room thermostat says it's currently 90 degrees in here. 90-freakin' degrees in my apartment. There is exactly no escape from the heat. I have taken several cold showers, drank enough water to float and used the occasional ice-pack on my face. I'd kill for a pool or a lake to sit in. WATER!

Tomorrow...more of the same. Day after that...hot again. Hopefully by the time my birthday (the 9th) arrives, it will have cooled off into the mid-70's. Last year, it was a steamy 90-something degree birthday.

I'm going downtown tomorrow. Waterfront park or one of the nice water fountains. I love the one in front of Keller Auditorium. I'm grabbing the family and going down there. Yup! Getting wet in the fountain(s). Find some shade and nap on a blanket...Sounds like a plan.

Midweek Randoms

So, I am still knitting every chance I get, as usual. I started a summer-y project a few nights ago. It's another Chickami. I think this will be the third one I have made in the last few years. I am making a pink and white Cami this time around. I am knitting the 44" size and the non-shaped, skinny strap version. We'll see how it goes...So far, so good. Okay, the yarn is not my first choice, but it's from my stash and I got gauge with it. So, there you have it.

I think I woke up this morning, irritated. I have a lot of crap on my plate at the moment and I am feeling frazzled, stressed out. The kids are driving me absolutely flippin'-crazy too. Taelor, the oldest has a boy friend. Hubby and I like the boyfriend well enough, but seriously does he need to come over here several times a week? All they do is sit on my couch and play video games. I can't get my web design work done with Anime video games going on in the background. Hannah, the youngest is whining endlessly about this and that.

Example: Hannah is going to the park later and wanted to borrow my iPod, since mine has all the good music, according to her. I am reluctant to allow to use my iPod. Why? Well, first of all...once I loan something to the girls that IS MINE, it seems to become a habit. They think that anytime they feel like it, they can use my stuff at their will after having borrowed it once. It's happened several times in the past. Secondly, Hannah used to have her own $200 brand-new Video iPod Nano that we bought her for Xmas...SHE LOST IT! Gone! I wish I were kidding. So, why should I allow her to use my iPod? So, Han proceeded to beg me and plead all morning...I relented. But I told her that she may borrow it JUST ONCE, and if she lost it, damaged it, etc...I WILL NEVER FORGIVE HER! I know that somehow, some way I will regret allowing her to use my iPod.

So, onto cute and happier things. Cats! Pixie was sitting at the back door this morning, watching the birds, squirrels and the random neighbor kittens darting by. OMG, the kittens are so adorable. One of the kittens is a Mackeral Tabby (silver and black) and it reminds me of my deceased cat, Sylvia, so much. I wish I could adopt one...but I already have three cats and that is more than enough, thank you. No new kittens for me. I was trying to get a photograph of at least one of the kittens that visit my yard, but they are speedy little things. Meh! So, I took a picture of Pixie. She's 9 years old and still cute. Looks can be decieving though. Pixie may be all cute and fluffy, but she's a bitch. We call her the "bi-polar kitty." She can be sweet as pie one minute and biting you the next. She loves me though...it's all good.

Okay, that's all I have to ramble on about. I am going to find something to occupy myself and help improve my foul mood. Is it too early to blame PMS? Probably...

I have a headache.

Done : Tequila Sunrise Socks

I finally finished my Tequila Sunrise Socks this afternoon. It only took me 6 weeks to do. Normally, socks don't take me this long to knit. I was just stalling and knitting on other projects in between. It's the whole "second sock syndrome."

What socks will I knit next? Well, I was thinking of gathering all of my little leftover sock yarns and mixing them together for a wacky pair of socks. I will have to go and dig through my sock yarn drawer to see what's left.

Specs On The Socks:

Pattern: Well, I didn't use one. I just used a basic sock recipe with a 60 stitch cast on. These are knitted cuff down.
Yarn: 2 skeins of Red Heart Ltd. Heart & Sole in the "tequila sunrise" colorway.
Needles: US # 2 double pointed bamboo needles.
Mods: n/a
Size: to fit my size 9 feet.
Time: 6 weeks to knit.
Verdict: I still LOVE this sock yarn. I want to purchase some more as soon as I am able to afford to buy yarn again. Love the colors and the feel of the yarn. I'm a big fan!

Front Porch Garden

I have a lovely back yard and patio. We rented this townhouse/apartment just for the backyard. Several of the other units in this complex have balconies only. We have been living here for four years now and the trees are getting bigger and covering more and more of the back patio. We don't get hardly any sunlight back there anymore. There is a pro and a con to that. Pro: It stays nice and cool during the summer months. Con: I can't grow many flowers and edibles in my garden without sunlight.

So, for the first time, since we've lived here, I moved my sun-loving plants to the front porch. My front door faces due West and it gets full afternoon sun. I took this photo of only half of the flowers pots that sit on my front porch. There is more on the other side. Pots filled with yellow marigolds.

You can see my Tomato Plant, in the center terracotta pot, which has tripled in size since I planted it three weeks ago. The vine looking plant up against the wall there is my Star Jasmine. It did have little smell-y good white flowers all over it.

Here is a closer photo of my Tomato Plant. It was looking slightly droopy. I watered it and it perked up. No worries. The plant is getting rather large.

I hope that I can get, at least, a few tomatoes out of this plant before the growing season ends. We'll see...

I am now off to do the dishes for Hubby. He's cooking fried chicken tonight. Me? I plan to knit and watch the new show Merlin, tonight. Grand plans for a Sunday evening.

Toodles!

Saturday Stuff

Another Saturday where not much really happens around here. Ah, the lazy days of summer, and all that. It's certainly feeling more like Summer here. It got up to 84° here today. My living room is pretty warm. I suppose it isn't helping that I am also drinking HOT coffee at the moment.

I thought the above cat-profile would make a cool photo to share. That is Mr. Phinnegan sun bathing in the evening sunlight. I really need to get him a window seat for cats. Phinn usually ends up going to sleep and falls out of the window and giving himself a little heart attack. He's a scaredy cat, for sure.

Look what I found in my garden this afternoon. A strawberry. I have a large pot that holds a large strawberry plant. It finally produced one lone strawberry, after two years. I don't get much sunlight in my back yard, so I probably would have grown more, if there were more sunlight. So, my one, lone, small strawberry is it for this year. I am SO proud of it. This is the first time I have successfully grown anything edible.

Sure, I plant all kind of things. Tomatoes, cucumbers, pumpkins, sunflowers, etc. Something ends up happening...and nothing comes of them. Well, I do still have my tomato plants growing on the front porch and doing quite well. I will take a photo of the two tomato plants tomorrow, I think.

In the knitting department...I am working on the second Tequila Sunrise sock, tonight. I am determined to finish the damn thing by the end of this weekend. Yup. I also finished the first sleeve of the Alice Lace Shrug. I will be casting on for the second sleeve sometime tonight. I am anxious to get the shrug finished too.

And that's all I have to report for this evening. Overall, a pretty good sort of day.