Late Bloomer

I've complained several times about this vine, that it refuses to bloom. Mike got it for me in Lubbock about 3 years ago after I couldn't stop exclaiming over the fences and telephone poles there being covered in beautiful red flowers. It seemed to be everywhere - kind of like kudzu here. I believe it's called a trumpet vine.

I brought it home and planted it - that was in August of 2008, I guess. It died back over the winter but came back very lush and green in the spring. Every spring. It softens up that corner of the fence where the trash can lives, but it so far has refused to bloom. Just last week I mentioned that it must not like the soil here and kind of stopped having any expectations for it.

So when I was passing by one day, I thought I was seeing things. I was in a hurry so didn't stop to check it out, but when I went back yesterday, this is what I saw. It's on the back side of the fence down low, but now there's hope. I was about to get out the clippers and trim it back, but now I think I'll wait until next month and see if it will perform any more.


Completely unrelated, but...

I found this picture yesterday - somehow. Don't ask me the pathway that gets me to some web sites. This is not a joke but a real pattern. The name of the web site is Museum of Kitschy Stitches from a blog called Stitchy McYarnpants. Once again, I didn't take the time to explore the whole web site, but she has compiled a bunch of old knitting patterns from the 1960s through 1980s, and most of them are painful to look at.

Some of them are almost familiar. One of my regrets in life is getting rid of all my old McCall's Needlework and Crafts magazines. From the time I learned to knit the first year we were married, I would buy this magazine every chance I got. I imagine it wasn't in the budget a lot of times, but I did have a stack of them. I guess I just gradually threw them out through the years when they became out of date.

On the right side of the web site is a menu that I want to explore. The ones I've looked at so far are hideous, but the writer's comments are so funny. It's a "what WERE they thinking" list. I'm almost afraid to mention this because I'm afraid Emily is going to read this. She'll probably fall in love with some of them and get out her knitting needles. Maybe for their Christmas card this year. These are especially scary.

On the nonscary side, here are some more pictures from Mike's visit to Washington for the ones who weren't invited to the private viewing: The Olympic National Park and the Seattle Locks and Botanical Gardens. Well, some of them might be considered a little scary.

Today I plan to catch up on my projects for the week - my way-behind 9-patch block. I'm only 6 days behind. And today is Lesson 2 of Jeannie's daygown sewalong. I'm looking forward to it. I've completed lesson 1 and waiting for buttonholes - which is where I might bog down.

I use a lot of links, I've just noticed. By sending people to interesting web sites, it might distract from the fact that my life is not that fascinating!

Enjoy.