July Doings

First of all, I made vegetable lentil soup today. Recipe courtesy of Leila.
I added a bay leaf, generous shakes of basil, a good amount of thyme, a few shakes of oregano, and some cumin. In retrospect, it was well spiced but could have been even stronger, especially with oregano. I don't like the strong smell of it while it is in the bottle, which kept me from adding more to the soup-- mistake. I added smoked ham, which went nicely, and did add some red russian kale from the garden.
Next time, because I am not vegan, I would definitely add some chicken broth.

I finished the lace ribbon scarf and also the bainbridge scarf-- I'll have to post pictures. I finished them during a family vacation to San Diego, in which I did not have to drive. Thus, the hands were free to knit. It was a good trip. Still love Balboa Park.

During a recent sidewalk sale at an outdoor mall, I bought a decorative ceramic milk bottle with flecks of paint that ran down the bottle in vertical lines. I became so attached to it that I bought it. What a random thing to get. Among my friends, I am the most likely to buy random bottles because I get aesthetically hooked. I think it represented to me hope and a vision for a clean bedroom. Ironic that I bought something to go inside that room-- that is, adding to the clutter instead of bringing the cleanliness it symbolizes.

On the queue:
--Sew a tunic or sundress using a Japanese pattern.
--Replant arugula and chard sprouts. I need 1) to weed myself more plot space, 2) floating row cover. There was a point this year where I didn't think I needed floating row cover, but I actually do. P.S. copper really does prevent slugs from entering the garden plot. It works amazingly well. No slug problems since putting copper rod on the perimeter of my plot and removing slugs inside the plot.
--Knit the Coachella tank top. This pattern was only appealing to me because I saw the mods that Roko made to it-- darling. I also saw a different project modification where length was added to the body, and it made a super cute dress. I'm thinking about doing both those things. (I love that Roko called her project "Coachella for shy scapulas"-- the use of the word "scapula" brings out the anatomy geek in me). I also like that Coachella is the name of a music festival in California.
--Continue cleaning my room. I made significant desk progress recently, but still need to clear up the room environs (e.g. file folders, academic materials, dresser). I bought some organizers, which should help.