Not Bored Yet!

I'm pretty sure that I've worked during the summer every summer since I've had kids, which means over twenty-one years. It's not like I've worked all summer, or full days, even, but I've worked! This summer I'm not working. I can't entirely take credit since I wasn't asked to teach a college class, but I didn't even try for a high school session, so I'll congratulate myself on that  bit of good sense. It's only been a week, and I have enjoyed every minute, even if some of those minutes have involved napping on the couch every afternoon.

 As usual, we have a ton of plums, which I don't know what to do with. I'm not interested in all of the work that canning would take, but I don't want all of those delicious plums to go to waste. We always give away a lot to the neighbors, and I usually try to do a few creative things with them. Since I'm pretty much obsessed with Pinterest, I figured that I could get some inspiration there, and I did! I found a recipe for spicy plum sauce from Local Kitchen, and several hours later had some plum sauce that was at least as good as any I've tried from the grocery store or at a Chinese restaurant.

Our first meal with my plum sauce was with pot stickers as an appetizer, but last night we branched out and had it on chicken. It took several hours and a lot of work to make about a quart's worth of plum sauce, but I think I may have to make a couple of more batches.

I've been plugging along with my socks too, and even though I'm a little nervous about running out of yarn, I think I may actually finish a knitting project, something I haven't done a lot of recently...er...this year.

 This is a bad picture of my current sock situation, but, as you can see, I'm very near the end. I've lost the label for this yarn although I think I may have bought it from The Loopy Ewe. If I end up short, I'll have to do a little more investigating. I usually only order from The Loopy Ewe, Webs, or LIttle Knits, so it shouldn't take too much detective work. I haven't been using a pattern, just cast on 64 stitches and started knitting. I've made a promise to myself that this is absolutely the last time, I improvise a pattern and not write down what I've done. I'm coming up on the toe, and I can't remember what I did on the first sock exactly. I don't deserve any sympathy, feel free to roll your eyes!

We're still in love with our little Rolly, even if we are bad beagle parents and were playing on the bed with him and let him fall...and break his leg. He has taken it in stride, but we were so very sad. Bot of us cried over him the night we got back from the vet. It's not a terrible break, but it is his upper femur, which was hard to splint, and we've pretty much had to be with him every minute to make sure he doesn't get it wet, etc.

 We're going on week three and are optimistic that he'll be fine eventually, although Rolly thinks that he's just fine now, and wants to run around and tussle with his "auntie" Gidget, who is always willing to oblige him. She even gets in his kennel with him to take naps.

It's been quite a challenge keeping his splint clean, although we've enployed the "plastic bag" bootie method so that he can potty in the backyard and hang out with kitty too.