Summer is here - not officially but close enough.

I finished these Queen of Cops socks yesterday. I love knitting socks; I love the small bamboo and rosewood needles in my hands. And I feel very clever juggling 5 needles at once.

We finally seem to have settled into summer-like weather here. The garden is gorgeous with lilac, wisteria, azaleas and rhodos in bloom. Hubby bought me a beautiful hanging basket for Mother's Day. It is huge - full of petunias and daisies busting out of a moss basket. I've got geraniums potted in front, the Stargazer lilies are about five feet tall, Lady's Mantle is everywhere, woolly thyme is spreading across the pathways (smells lovely when crunched). We have a resident raccoon who rambles through every evening. I wonder if it's a she and if we may see babies soon. Lots of deer around including a very pregnant doe. We usually see at least one pair of adorable little fawns each year. The hummingbird feeder is abuzz with Rufous and Annas fighting over space. They are like tiny jet fighters, whizzing by at such a speed I don't know how they keep from crashing into things!

I'm off to Victoria this weekend to visit a very dear friend (since grade 4!) for a couple of days. We share the same obsessions with yarn and fabric so will visit as many shops as we can cram in, have lunch at the Dutch Bakery, I hope, and yak our heads off. It is her birthday in June so I'm going to present her with an early prezzie, the bag pictured. I hope she likes it as much as I enjoyed making it.