The Power of Diesel

So, I decided that the lawn could stand to be mowed today before it got really out of control. I went down to the barn to get the tractor only to discover that the diesel gas tank was hovering just above empty. For a brief moment I contemplated leaving it for another day since I didn't figure I had enough gas to do more then a loop or two around the yard. But, something told me to just do what I could get done today so off I went to mow the lawn anyway. Every time the tractor was farthest from the barn I figured that was the time it would quit on me... but no... not only did it mow the entire front yard it did around all four sides of the house and got it parked back in the barn to boot! I don't think the needle on the tank ever dropped lower then when I started. The power of diesel I guess!

In the garden I got my year old asparagus crowns, 25 of them, planted in their 4x8 box today. Evan and McKayla helped mix up the garden soil components in the box. They do love to play in the dirt but what kid doesn't?!

I promised McKayla that we would have meatballs for dinner tonight. The kids have never helped me make homemade meatballs before and I think they thought it was almost as much fun as playing in the garden dirt! I had to make up a recipe since I didn't have all the standard ingredients in the house yet. To a pound of ground beef we added about 1/2 sleeve crushed saltine crackers, some Italian spices, and a little olive oil. We then made them into 1" balls and baked them in the oven at 400 degrees for about 15-20 minutes. They came out very tasty! Added them to some sauce over pasta and we had spaghetti for dinner.

While the kids watched a movie before bed I pulled out the Knitting Board and alpaca yarn that I won at the Palmetto Alpaca Classic auction this past weekend. It came with a little book of the different "stitches" that can be done on the board and some easy sample projects to try. I figured I would start out easy and began making the scarf out of the book. Using the board, at least for the scarf, is pretty easy and goes pretty quickly. Still, I think for most of my knitting needs I will stick (no pun intended) with my needles. There is something cathartic about the feel the yarn sliding through your fingers and the sound of the needles clicking away. I will finish off the scarf and might make the matching head warmer for a gift or maybe for sale. I think the kids will really enjoy using this as they get older though. I have been wanting one of these knitting boards for some time and I am happy that I finally have one.