A few weeks ago I started my first-ever vegetable garden. In fact, it’s my first-ever garden ever. In Seattle, I had roses and dahlias in my yard, but they were planted by the previous home owners, so I was just the new babysitter. This garden is mine, all mine.

I had to start by cleaning out the garden bed. There was an 8′ cactus there that had fallen over last fall, and two tons of aloe vera. (Seriously. There was enough aloe vera there to soothe the sunburns of a thousand redheads.)

Once that was all cleared out, I got on with the fun part. However, I realize there are limits as to what I can do.

Here’s the thing with my garden.
I have X amount of knowledge about gardens. If it requires X + 1, the garden will fail.
I have Y amount of patience with a garden. If it requires Y + 1, the garden will fail.
I have Z amount of time for a garden. If it requires Z + 1, the garden will fail.

So far, the garden has only required X, Y, and Z to thrive! Take a look…

Grape tomato flowers.

Happy little tomato plant.

Cucumbers that continue to grow, even though a neighbor’s cat crushed them.

Basil, loved by me and the snails.

Green beans. String beans? I don’t know if there is a difference.

Strawberries.

(I also have onions…but, wow. They don’t photograph well.)

So far, so good. I water every morning, and pull the weeds as I see them. If this is all it takes, we’re good. I’m really enjoying it, and I haven’t even picked anything yet.

In case you were wondering about what the dogs are doing this very minute, here you go. We just got back from our morning walk. Whiskey is still such a baby that our walks totally wipe him out, which is very nice. He’s teething, so it’s good when the little land shark sleeps.

I’m TRYING to write a post, but my reason for posting is making it very difficult! Let me explain.

Meet Whiskey River. He’s a 4 month-old Basenji puppy, and he’s my new foster.

Whiskey and seven of his siblings were surrendered to Basenji Rescue last week. They’ve been placed in foster homes all over the state, on their way to their forever homes. (Did I mention, they need homes?)

On Saturday, Wendy (a Basenji Rescue Coordinator) brought four of the pups over to my house for a visit, and so that I could pick my foster.

CUTE, huh? It was so much fun to see all the puppies. Ike stood back and observed, as if he was watching Animal Planet or something.

To give you an idea of how tiny these guys are, here is a shot of Whiskey next to Abe. (A “shot of Whiskey”! See that?)

I’d like to mention that all of the *good* photos in this post were taken by my friend Stephanie. This last one with Abe (the crappy one) was taken by me.

I haven’t lived around a puppy this young since Ike was this age – TWELVE years ago. Here are some things I sort of forgot about puppies:
– Puppies sleep a lot.
– Puppies have sharp teeth.
– Puppies have the attention span of a housefly.
– Puppies smell really good.
– Puppies aren’t as bright as adult dogs.
– Puppies will chew anything at mouth level.
– Puppies get lonesome if they can’t see you.
– Puppies are totally worth it.

As I’m typing this, Whiskey is asleep on my lap. I didn’t pick him as a foster as much as he picked me (and Abe). He is a sweet snuggle pup, already housetrained (with just one accident), and non-destructive. I feel lucky to be a part of this little man’s life on his way to his new home.

At least the beginning of a bonanza…

I’m very excited to start the release of the knitting videos we shot last month! In the two posts below, you’ll see a video in each. The first one, “Correcting a Color-Change Jog” shows you how to make your stripes look even while working in the round. The second one, “Correcting a Dropped Stitch” helps you through the panic of dropping a stitch – even if it unravels several rows.

Verypink has had an organizational overhaul to accommodate the new videos. It should be easier to find what you’re looking for when you need knitting help by visiting the Knitting Video Library page, which you can get to by clicking in “Knitting Videos” image on the left.

There are a TON more videos that I’ll be posting over the next several weeks, including lots more technique videos, and a few full lessons (like the sock knitting series).

Last but not least, here is a photo of a very bad dog who knocked a box of phad thai off the counter last night, then shared the noodle dish with his brothers. At least they left me a lime wedge.