stupid pool

Construction is going very slow.  It makes one question the wisdom of installing a pool during the summer. Actually it makes one wonder why this wasn't done about a month ago.  When it was supposed to be done.

The outdoor kitchen has plumbing but that's about it.

The tiles that edge the pool are gorgeous. Chad (WAS Design) pretty much picked them out. He's the man with the vision.















Here's the last sleeve of my Derby shrug sitting on top of the tiles.  They are more blue than in this picture. The glaze has a lot of variation and a touch of gold and brown.

dose of cats

Knitting is decidedly slow so let's look at the cats:

Bath time over.

We are putting in a pool so let's have a look at before and after the big giant pit:

The before shot is after they removed all of the decking and the steps from the back of the house as well as all of the trees. That took about two days.  The pile of sand is for remediation of the water line erosion.  But that's another project.

Putting in a pool is a surprisingly slow process and requires that the contractor not work too quickly or too frequently.  Less than two days a week judging from the pace of it.  I am sure the snail-like pace is for our own good.  However, in light of the fast approaching oil, I want the pool done so we can at least go swimming when we go to our beach house. And in case anyone is interested - and we all should because it's a national tragedy - the NY Times has excellent coverage of the oil spill. It seems like they have an insider involved in the BP's inept efforts to stop the spill.  They scooped CNN and the Times Picayune on the fact that the top kill effort failed by at least 4 hours.

I am blocking the pin wheel blanket for step-grandkid #3 but it's not done yet.  Here is Reggie sneaking a quick nap on it while I was not looking:

Busted!

very promsing and very disappointing

In the "promising" department: my design of cup holder for the Adirondack chairs that sit on the dock. I am sure these chairs had cup holders in the holes in the arms but likely a storm blew them out. Alas! Where to place my beer? I decided to design a knitted replacement with some left over cotton yarn complete with button attachments. I have not really been taking notes but I borrowed a pattern from this lovely and talented gal and added the necessary straps. Once done I will post.



I tried it out in the chair and found that the top strap just needs a button hole and the bottom strap needs to be bound off. The remaining straps can all be the same length as the one still on the needle.

In the "disappointing" department: my coffee mug cozy for a friend (more specifically a work colleague and long-time friend) with an oddly shaped mug. I decided to wing it with almost no planning on my part. Because I would like to surprise her with it, periodically I have been stealing her mug off her desk taking it home to try on the cozy-in-progress and then returning it to her desk. All this without her noticing. My husband keeps asking me why I don't take measurements. I think I did at one point but then lost them.



Anyway, it appears that despite my best effort this will be frogged. I might give it one more try though because I am high from the promise of my cup holder for the Adirondack chair.



SeyMo says "this sucks - fix it."

more birds in the yard

Yesterday I was able to observe this warbler close enough to make an id without binoculars and he was cooperative enough to allow me to run inside get my camera and change lenses so I could then take his picture. Also showing up in the yard: three orchard orioles.