Six

I actually managed to knit six rows on the Swallowtail Shawl this Saturday. I know it was only six rows, but as the project is starting to grow more now, those six rows take longer than they did before. I'm still religiously ticking them off on my "Swallowtail Shawl Mileage Sheet" and hoping and praying that I maintain the correct stitch count, but hey, IT WAS SIX WHOLE ROWS!

My main issue is having the energy to knit at the end of the day. I could really do with the calming presence of my knitting, but most of the time I'm too wiped to do more than fall into bed in a state of exhaustion. Consequently six rows really was a major achievement. Six rows meant setting aside an hour on a deck chair in the sun listening to my iPod and cutting everyone else out for that time. Six rows meant ignoring the cries of "Muuumm?" as they tried to find me and six rows meant ignoring P.A waving from the pool as he tried to draw attention to the fact that it was now 80 degrees and he'd actually got into it!!

DD2 is coveting my progress. She hit an issue again so her yarn is back in the corner of the room in a tangled heap. She's trying to pursuade me to redo it for her (she keeps ending up with too many stitches), but so far I have not succumbed to her butt-licking declarations of "You know you love me, Mum" or "I'm your favourite daughter and I love you soooo much!"

Thankfully I've been too busy keeping control of our burgeoning vegetable garden to be sweet-talked into someone elses lace project. The weather has been unbelievably hot this year and so watering has been a big job. The plants on my front deck are beginning to get away from me now. It's just so hot there and we're all getting too lazy to contort ourselves to water the hanging tomatoes and strawberries. The white onions in the container have been wonderful though. Every time I need one to go in the dinner, I just pop outside the front door and pull it fresh out of the soil.

Meanwhile, the zucchini (courgettes to my fellow Brits) are taking over! I've had at least ten already (yes, more than six) and I only have two plants. They are coming on so thick and fast that my stomach can't keep up with the pace of production! This weekend I resorted to chopping, blanching and freezing some to use at a later date in soups, stews and quiches. After all, you can have too much of a good thing and I really don't want to become sick of the sight of them by the end of the summer. I'm also on the lookout for any new zucchini recipes, so if you have a good one you don't mind passing on, I am your grateful recipient.

Now, I wonder if I have time to knit another six rows before everyone else gets up today? The benefit of waking before six every day (yes, there actually is an upside) is that I can sneak in a few uninterrupted stitches during the most peaceful part of the day.

Ahh, bliss.