Tuesday, August 1, 2017

Queen August




(from Pinterest)


 I am still trying to achieve completion of many of my knits.  Isn't this a sweet color?

I'm striving to make this August a very "liked" month.  When I was teaching middle school I didn't like August because it was chopped in half by teacher work week and then school beginning.  When I was a kid I was so eager to get back to school (tired of lying around eating too much and lonely for day-to-day contact with my friends) that I wished it away. August deserves her "queen of summer" status so I am going to try to do some summery things.  What summery things?  Maybe float in the little pool in the back yard (we do have a privacy fence now - yay!) and make some jam.  Feel free to leave jam tips in the comment section. 😍 Figure out what to do with the invading zucchini.  Keep weeding and enjoying the hot weather blooms.  Ride my bike.  Go to the closest thing we have to a lake and walk around.  Usually I am full of harvest thoughts WAY too early.  So this year - a change. I think I may have asked you last year whether or not you have good August-y ideas.  Feel free to contribute again!  Thank you.  😙

Mr. Adorable has forgiven me. 



Yesterday I walked to the bank and saw pink flowers.  What are these?  Do you know?

The sunflowers are wearing their lovely dresses.  
 Big pots of pretty are on sale at Home Depot.
 Shiny show off!


 And here is a shy girl . . . 

 As much as my disciplined self (very weak) wants to exercise, my meditative self (very strong) wants to read and knit.  

I was leafing through some old journals yesterday and I was impressed with all the doodling I did on the pages.  Do you ever go back and read things you wrote or view things you drew and think, "Wow.  Good stuff WAS happening!" or "I like the way I was walking toward God, trying to know Him, getting closer and closer to Jesus." It's so good to look inward, to reflect on ourselves.  We must know ourselves so we can know HIM and know the peeps in our lives.
What are you going to do this month?  What are you pondering? (Thank you very much for your kind visit!)

22 comments:

Granny Marigold said...

I wonder if those lovely pink flowers could be Osteospermum. I've seen them before but have never grown them. I like the shy Sunflower.

I don't have any special plans for August. It's my birthday month so I've always liked August.

Mary@mydogsmygardenandmary said...

I believe the pink flowers are in the daisy family, could be wrong. So many look alike.

Beautiful knitting. What am I doing for August - well it's so darn hot and humid here that I will be staying in doors due to the air quality and my COPD/asthma.

Great post so many pretty flowers.

Have a great rest of the week.

Hugs,
Mary

Kim said...

So happy for you that Mr Adorable has you in his good books again. Fickle feline....didn't take long. =) So many bright and happy flowers. I am afraid August down here means longs sits in front of the fire reading or quilting or perhaps a little knitting, and of course much meditating and to take a page from your book...pondering. One month or so then bright and happy flowers will begin to shine their happy faces...can't wait.

NanaDiana said...

I think that pink flower is what we always called an African Daisy. Don't ask me why...I don't know. Love all your flowers.

Whatever you are knitting there is very lovely- that yarn is perfect! It is too hot here to think about knitting though!

I hope you have a wonderful month, Queenie! xo Diana

Julia said...

I think that you keep your fingers well exercised, don't you? That knitting pattern is so lovely.

Timothy didn't stay angry for long. He knows where to find a comfortable lap to lay on.

I hope that you enjoy August. I can't believe it's already here. Time is zooming by so fast and I'm aging at the same speed wether I like it or not. My heart is still young like yours though.
Hugs, Julia

Lisa Richards said...

It's funny (and fun) to see how our perceptions of the year change after retirement! Also, our perception of the days of the week. Monday is no longer dreadful, but full of possibilities. ;)
You have so many good summery ideas. I tend to like the meditative ideas, but I know I need to get off my couch now and then. I walked yesterday, but my back is a little sore today, so that's a good excuse to loaf.
Enjoy Queen August as you exercise your creativity!

Between Me and You said...

Off to a good start with being on holiday which will be a staycation for me but lots to do so the time is going FAST!Your pink petals belong to Osteospermum. Isn't it odd how the structure of the non-working day is so different to the working one?I don't mind getting up even earlier than I would if I were going to work to make the most of my free time. Unfortunately it's only temporary for I'll soon be back on the treadmill of doom but I'm not giving thought to that for the next week and a half!!

Jeanie said...

Gorgeous stuff and Mr. Adorable is, too.

Don't you love retirement? Every day I am so very grateful.

elizabeth said...

I tend to be more sedentary too, but I know I must be more active. It's hard to do for us types I think. have a wonderful day! so many blessings you have!

Sara at Come Away With Me said...

A very happy August to you! Your knitting projects are very pretty, I love the patterns you are using. Handsome kitty obviously loves you. A purring cat on the lap is so comforting and relaxing, brings down the blood pressure too. Here in Southern California we are going to try to stay cool this month, while also putting in a new garden where our pool once was . . . so lots of tending and watering while the flowers and bushes and ground cover establish their root systems. Next year it will be (we hope) beautiful and drought tolerant at the same time. Sorry, I have no jam hints, unless you are using fresh figs, the only kind of jam I know how to make. Enjoy your garden and floating in the little pool on your hot Colorado days. And, of course, I totally agree about retirement and the new relaxed schedule it brings to the days and weeks . . .

Farm Girl said...

Well I am very glad of your reflections. They always make me think. I really like all of the colors you share. So many pretty flowers. I am so glad Tim is a forgiving type. You know that kitty I saved? I think she is a Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde kitty. I am glad Tim is always nice.
I hope you have a lovely day.

Elizabethd said...

Your pink flowers are Osteospermum. I bought some this season, in white with a purple centre and they have gone on and on.

happyone said...

Sounds like lots of fun activities for August. I don't have anything specific planned, just enjoying each day.
I don't think I ever looked forward to going back to school!!!

Kit said...

Good ole August! I tend to use this month to just relax before I have to get ready to go back to work on the 24th. We have the fair and I have some lunch dates and just reading and watching movies. It has been so hot for a month now and dry, so I tend to water and then run back into the house....lol Enjoy your knitting and that wonderful kitty! :) Kit

M.K. said...

I occasionally read things I wrote years ago, and it always surprises me that I don't remember it, and that it doesn't "feel" like me, like my thoughts. I don't recognize my voice; it sounds like someone else. anyway ...
August. Yes, one of my least favorite months, and it's a good idea to give it a happy facelift! Well, like you, I'm visiting my family this month (next week), in the mountains of WVa. Maybe that's a good thing to do with part of the month. And anything summery that you LOVE, that is classically summery. Like go barefoot, or go to the water (here, the beach), making jam is a grand idea. Perhaps do some sort of craft that reflects summer? Perhaps hanging/drying some summer flowers? Bike riding seems perfect too. Or -- having a family cook-out outside one evening. That seems like a summer thing. When I think of happy summer moments, I think of visiting WVa as a child, going to church on Sunday evenings with all the other families we loved (people hardly have evening services anymore), and after the service we kids would play outside in the church yard. Then we'd beg our parents to all go to the local Dairy Queen for a treat, and we'd continue the long, summer evening of conversation and friendship. Then, I loved August.

Amy at love made my home said...

Beautiful flowers! Hope you have a great august and enjoy your knitting!

Boyett-Brinkley said...

I feel bad for August -- everybody is saying "summer is over, school starts in a week" but just because school starts doesn't mean summer is over. I have to say, though, that we had a "cold front" come through and our triple digits have turned into the 80's and it feels like there is a bit o'fall in the air! Love autumn but not ready to put summer to bed yet!

Elderberry-Rob said...

osteospernum/zinnia I think the pink flowers are known as. So pretty. I like your knitting, it's a lovely stone colour. August here feels very autumnal and is usually spent walking in the woods a lot, so that's what will be August-y for me, I hope you DO float in that pool - and then light candles around it and pick flower heads to float in there too!!! Betty x

ellen b. said...

Happy August to you and I'm glad you plan to enjoy it. I, too, have been encouraged by reading some old journals and also challenged to continue on and have growing times with the Lord now, too.

Sandra @ Thistle Cove Farm said...

first pink flowers look like zinneas, second pink flowers look like hollyhocks. zucchini - freeze it in 2 cup portions and have it ready for bread come snowball time. I want to read and knit, read especially, but I'm packing to move. recently, I read a few years back in a Bible journal and was amazed at how far I've come. most days I feel like I'm stagnant but that's a lie from hell...I'm moving forward, ever onward and giving Him the glory.

Mylittlepieceofengland said...

Lovely photos, I really do love the picture of the 'shy girl' sunflower xx

GretchenJoanna said...

Yep, Osteospermum or African Daisy :-)

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