A Better Ending Than a Beginning

Today is ending better than it began.

After being grumpy and feeling a little dizzy and rather ill with the world in general all morning, T, Bird and I went out on an errand - I needed yarn.

I hear Michelle, mum, and Kit laughing, for they have seen and heard of my prodigious stash and know that I could do without buying any more yarn for a decade or more and still have enough, but I needed yarn. Cotton yarn in many different colors and colorways (variegations, if you don't speak textile). I needed this yarn because I take it with me to the June event and custom crochet bikini style tops for the women there, and I wanted to have a nice selection for them to choose from.

I also crochet water bottle carriers and even little purses or gather bags on demand. A bikini top, if I am uninterrupted and in a groove, only takes a few hours. I plan to have a few ready-made for the event, and a few skeins ready to work with. It keeps my hands busy, gives me a sort of Zen mindset as I go about the day. I carry the yarn with me and walk as I work, chat with others, enjoy the venue. It's a pleasant way to go about things. So you see, I did need the yarn.

We went to the Evil Empire, this being the most convenient purveyor of yarns to our home. I wish it weren't so, but it is, and given the choice between shopping close to home or burning fuel for better than an hour to get somewhere else, well...I chose corporate malfeasance over polluting the air I have to eventually breathe.

While there, we got a little baseball glove for Bird, T insisting that the lad needs one. That's fine with me, as I throw like a girl whether I have a glove or not. T can spend some time bonding with the child and I can get dinner cooked, a book partly read, or any number of other things done in peace(ish).

We also went to the garden section because Bird was fascinated by all the colorful flowers, and while there I picked out a couple of tomato plants and some basil, and then a bit of soil...well, why not? I have had the desire to plant tomatoes this year, and I just happen to have a large empty pot that wants filling, so...

When we got home, we had a late lunch, and then T an Bird went to our room and wrestled on the bed for a while, giving me a little break. Then we went out into the lovely evening and the boys played while I planted.

I thoroughly enjoyed sinking my hands into the Earth, planting those little green things with the hope that they'll grow, thinking about the visceral pleasure of sinking my teeth into a sun-warmed tomato, planning a batch of pesto from the basil. I know there's no guarantee that they'll ever grow to harvest, our water being what it is, but I can hope...and isn't gardening the ultimate act of hope?

I know, I know, two tomato plants and some basil do not a garden make, but it's a start and it's all I can manage at the moment. Perhaps when Bird is older, we will put in some raised beds and have greater ambitions - but for now I will dream the simple dream of tomato slices with fresh basil leaves and a touch of balsamic vinegar on them. Mmm...

I feel better.