Hats

That's what I've been knitting the last few days, hats.  I finished May Preemie Hat #2 tonight at Zoom Friday Night Knitting,

and then added more rounds to the Slip Stitch Hat I cast on yesterday.  Keeping the yarns from getting all tangled isn't as big a pain in the keester as I thought it'd be.  I don't know who or what this hat is for but my friend MW needs items for a charity auction in the fall so it'll probably be for that.




The big thing I did today was go to Ace Hardware for blueberry fertilizer and a new hose box.  I was thinking I could do without a new one this summer and just coil the hose on the patio blocks but that was more of a pain that it turns out I'm willing to deal with so off I went.  Getting a better quality box made it tons easier to get the hose all hooked up and wound on than the last, cheaper one.  And it looks so nice and tidy.  I got the blueberries fertilized too so maybe they'll stop looking so bedraggled and perk up.  They're barely even making leaves.

This goldfinch has claimed my feeders as his.  He fights off any other males that come around but he tolerates any females that show up.  Quite the Don Juan.  I can tell this is the same bird because he has a distinctive black spot on top of his head like a beret.






The bleeding heart is blooming for real now.  I love the little arches of dangling flowers, even if they are pink, which I prefer to think of as light red.

22 May --Barbara Malcolm, Tropical Obsession. 

Jack could not resist telling her about Manning’s treasure laden shipwreck find, that he and Santiago were allowing a few select investors to buy in and that day at lunch he had convinced Manning that he was the kind of man they had been looking for.  Jack was excited that he had been invited to join the consortium, that he would be allowed to invest in the project.

“Have you seen the operation?” Mona asked. 

“No, not yet.  First, I have to have my bank wire ten thousand dollars in earnest money into Manning’s account.  Then I get to go out on the boat to the site and they will show me more of the things they have already brought up.”

 “More?  You have seen some of it?” 

“Just a little, and none of the treasure.” 

Mona was surprised.  “What did he show you?” 

Jack squirmed a bit and did not speak.  “Oh, come on, Jack, what did he show you?”  Jack looked around as if checking for eavesdroppers.  “I gave my word I would not tell anyone.”

“Jack.  Who am I going to tell?  The maid?  The lizards?  Come on, tell.  I will not say a word. Cross my heart.”  She solemnly did just that. 

“Oh, okay.”  Jack crossed his legs and leaned toward her.  “He showed me some really old nails and spikes that the old-time ship builders used to use to hold the ships together and a length of anchor chain.  Mona, you should have seen the size of the links.  Bigger than a saucer, swear to god.”  He looked at her and she was amazed at the gleam of excitement in his eyes.

“Sounds cool,” she said.  “No treasure?” 

A sly, satisfied little smile crossed Jack’s lips.  “Well now, I did not say that did I?”  He scooted even closer to her.  “He had emeralds.” 

At the word Mona felt a thrill run down her spine.  Emeralds were her favorite gemstone.  “Emeralds?  How big?  How many?” 

“Not many, just a few, and none bigger than a pea.  But he and Santiago figure that there are a lot more down there.” 

“So, do you get your share in treasure or when they sell the stuff?  And is there a government going to get involved?  Did you even think to ask that kind of question?  You know Leibovitz from the bank is going to ask that sort of thing.” 

Jack snorted.  “As if I have to tell that penny-pinching busybody what I want to do with my own money.  He puts it where I tell him to.”  He crossed his arms over his chest again and nodded like he had just made the argument winning point. 

“Okay, but …” 

Mona and Jack sat out there not even noticing the afternoon passing.  They talked of treasure and legalities and pirates and shipwrecks.  Mona decided that she would not try to save Jack from a bad investment.  He was right; it was his money and he could do what he wanted with it. 

“So how did Manning find the treasure?” she said.

Just then all of the rum punch he had drunk after Manning left took its toll.  Jack’s eyes rolled back as he lay on his lounge dreaming of buckets of emeralds and endless gold chains. 

Mona walked to the seawall and sat watching the sunset.  Movement to her right caught her attention.  Threads of black silhouettes crossed the purple orange sky. The sight never failed to soothe her. She figured the world must still be on an even keel when she got the chance to watch the flamingos fly back to their roost in Venezuela at sunset. Their elongated shapes, so awkward when they waded in the salt pans seining out their brine shrimp meal, flew like arrows gracefully riding the fading light, their wings flapping slowly, their long legs trailing behind like rudders. She loved this time of day when the tourists were tucked in their resorts and the natives had gone home. She sat watching the sun's fiery orb sink into the sea, listening to the eternal push-pull of waves on shore.

Turns out the renter's lawnmower (which I provide) is on the blink so until he can get it fixed I let him use mine in return for him using his weed wacker to trim along the retaining wall.  I hope the mower can be fixed; I really don't want to have to buy a new one.  Maybe the rain will hold off tomorrow long enough for me to mow my lawn, not that I want to mow, but it could probably use it in the next few days and it's supposed to be rainy a few days next week.  Ugh.
--Barbara