Monday, July 28, 2014

Staying in

Oh, goodness.  There is a warning on my phone about the heat index.  Heat index near 110 degrees this afternoon.  Black flag conditions.  There will be no running outside for me today.  This is the hardest part of being a northerner temporarily transplanted to the south.  Summer up north means temperatures of around 80, and maybe a few days of 90s in August.  Summer up north is so short and fleeting that you were supposed to be outside as much as possible, soaking it in and taking advantage of it all.  The summer heat down here just flattens me.  Although I am much more acclimated than I was a few years ago (a few months ago, I was wearing long pants at 80 degrees), nothing-- and I mean nothing-- will ever get me used to a heat index of 110.  I don't think I'm the only one, though.  The streets are relatively quiet in our neighborhood today, despite the fact that kids are home from school.

So what am I doing to keep myself busy inside?  Aside from drinking buckets of iced tea (oh, Republic of Tea Blackberry Sage, you are delicious), I have finally started working on the Midsummer Morning sampler by Alicia Paulson.  I prepped the floss for this back in May, but only got around to starting it this past week.  It is lovely, but it is stitched on black linen.  The going is rather slow.  I don't think I'll be making anything else on black linen any time soon.

This looks grey, but it is really black.

I'm also working on two pair of socks, both of which were supposed to be gifts.  One pair, I think, is going to stay with me.  Not because I love it too much, but rather the opposite.  Although it will end up being fine, it certainly will not be gift-worthy.  The other pair will get to the recipient, rather later than I had hoped.  I'm losing my sock knitting mojo, though, and am really itching to start a bigger project.  But 110 degrees makes me feel like it will never be cool enough for wool, ever again.  Ever.  I guess I'll just work on some cotton pants for Camden.

Everything of Camden's has dogs on it, if at all possible.