Two days ago I noticed a slight shift in the morning feel outside. Just a little cooler, a little less humidity. This morning the change was more noticeable. Knowing my herb beds were in urgent need of tending, I gathered my grimy yard gloves, trowel, and clippers, and attacked the weeds.
So much tidier!
I left a little patch of parsley and grass in the middle because quite a few of these fellows were grazing there. Google tells me they are swallowtails ... I think.
The yarn I combed/spun/dyed myself never did sell at the market (I wasn't surprised), so I pondered what to make with it. Finally I opted for a little rustic beanie hat. I added a pin. This one is for me.
I liked it so well that I made another one to sell.
All that knitting got me back in the seasonal knitting mood, so last night I moved on to a new project: a pair of fancy hand-warmers. Here's the beginning:
I attempted small cables for the very first time. Old doggie ... new trick! I'm rather making it up as I go. I was inspired by this pair from Pinterest:
I forgot to show you two books I found at the thrift store on Monday.
This is a solid, 1967 edition of The Hobbit. All our paperbacks are dry and crumbling from decades of use. And the Thirkell book was a surprise at a thrift store! I love her books, set in Trollope's Barsetshire about 75 years later.
The air is so fine outside I threw open the doors and windows. Thank you, Lord, for a weather change!
I was going to sign off then, but I forgot to tell you one more thing. In the spring, we turned off our central AC/heat unit (about 30 years old), and instead used a small window AC unit for the summer.
Our house is 1111 square feet, so cooling it is not too much of a challenge. The 10-foot ceilings help. Two small bedrooms we keep closed off much of the time, so this single unit was up to the task. It's not a cheap-o unit; Adam did his research, and it cost about $350, but he figured it would quickly pay for itself, and he's right. Both our July and our August electricity bills are exactly halved from last year. Those two months alone are a savings of about $250, so the little AC unit will pay for itself this year, I hope.
That's all from this little house to your little house! Happy Autumn (well ... almost)!!
9 comments:
You sound good, and yes, cooler weather helps. This summer has been stifling to me. Fall sounds delicious.
The only knitting I love to do is when I knit cables- but mine are significantly simply than these! No A/C needed here- even this very hot and wonderful summer. Which is, by the way, totally past and I always think of you when we get to this crisper, need for cosier time, of the year!
Glad you're having nicer weather! I love the beany hats. I knitted a little swatch with some cables a couple of years ago, but never made anything with it. I'll have to get my nerve up again. I lean more toward dish cloths, lol. Your yard is looking so green and nice. Those caterpillars are pretty!
I'm not ready for fall yet. We still have almost a month of summer. I don't like to rush things. : ) Our summers are so nice here we don't even need AC.
MK! Can you believe this cooler weather and low humidity?? One more day and then back to normal, but this has been wonderful. We opened all the windows today too. It's amazing what a little weeding will do. The herb bed looks so pretty.
We've also had a most welcome change in weather. One feels so much more like actually doing something when it's not so very warm.
I'm glad you left the little patch of Parsley for the caterpillars. I love Butterflies but we don't often see any except the little Cabbage Butterfly.
Your 2 books are a neat find.
Ah, The Hobbit. I loved that book when I read it. I was a bit taken aback when I saw the film as it was nothing like how I had pictured everything. We don't have air con in our houses here, but could have done with it this year. Thankfully, the heatwave is now over and normal British weather has resumed. I feel more like knitting again. I just couldn't do it when our weather was so hot.
Oh, yes, throw open the windows and breathe! So happy for you :-) Love your pictures of the drapes on chairs, and they make me remember doing that very thing in our previous house so long ago.
YAY for cooler weather; several mornings it's been in the upper 50's here and a Most welcome change. I keep house fans going, along with the a.c. set at 77 and it stays very nice. I have hand made stationary that is similar to your blog wallpaper; beautiful!
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