Friday | It’s Been A Hot Week!

We have made it to Friday. I’m relieved and hope you’re also looking forward to a weekend with slightly less pressure-filled days. Fridays are for focusing on joy here at The Cozy Burrow, so I’m sharing a few things that have been helping me through this crazy hot week. I have some knitting updates, a couple of flower updates, and a little bookish chat at the end. And even though it’s pretty warm this morning, I still have a hot cup of coffee keeping me company as I type and I’m ready to chat with you!

I’ve managed to eke out a little knitting this week. I am enjoying my time with the Inclinations Cowl (my Ravelry project page)! It’s knit up in half-fisherman’s rib, which is a totally new technique to me and it looks so cool. I love how those knit stitches are so pronounced and the pops of green throughout. My latest pair of DRK Everyday Socks are also inching along. No rush to finish these – just picking them up and knitting a few stitches when the opportunity presents itself. I’m almost ready to knit the gusset and turn the heel and I want to make sure I have some quiet, uninterrupted time for that. The gusset increases are a little complicated with this pattern because it continues in the 2×2 ribbing, so you just have to pay attention to when to do a purl increase or a knit increase. No biggie, but I like to do it when the kids are asleep. Perhaps tonight while I finish up last Sunday’s episode of Grantchester?

It has been a scorcher of a week but we’ve managed to stay cool enough in the shade of the maple tree while we’re outside. There hasn’t been any rain to speak of, other than a few very small passing showers that barely make it to the ground. We nearly got a thunderstorm last night. The sky darkened and we could hear distant thunder, but it didn’t make it to us. There’s a 55% chance of a small thunderstorm this afternoon – my fingers are crossed!

The garden has been quiet. Normally we’d be getting tons of squash and zucchini right now, but none of our squash took off. We had one very nice zucchini plant, but the deer wrecked it when they jumped the fence we put up to keep them out. We got three zucchinis off of the plant before that happened. So at this point we’re just waiting on the crowning glory: tomatoes. I am so excited!!

The hydrangea has also been nibbled by the deer this year but there are still plenty of blooms. And the hibiscus opened yesterday!! I am so pleased to have so many flowers to admire throughout the entire summer. We’ve worked really hard to diversify the blooming times so that we always have something to enjoy. Watch out, Tasha Tudor. I’m coming for you!

I am slowly reading The Shell Seekers and am learning about Olivia’s time in Ibiza with Cosmo. It sounds pretty darn amazing to me but I’m anxious to get back to the coziness of England. Rosamunde Pilcher really likes a “scrubbed table,” doesn’t she? It has been mentioned several times in the first 70 or so pages of this book and I remember it being a feature of Coming Home when I read it earlier this year. And I love it because it’s the essence of coziness — a well scrubbed table, filled with delicious food and good company. You better believe that I’ve been spending more time caring for our dining room table since I started the book earlier this week! I’m looking forward to taking my time with The Shell Seekers and reading a few delicious pages at a time, even if it takes me all month. And it’s gotten me very excited about reading September next month and Winter Solstice in December!

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I wish I could stay at my desk all day and just keep writing, but now it’s time to get things started around here. There’s stirring upstairs and I’m expecting to hear my sweet middle child creeping downstairs at any moment. I hope you all stay cool this weekend and it’s full of things you love. Take good care!