Patience

I'm a patient person. I'm known for my patience. I was raised to favor the long term enjoyment rather than the immediate gratification something might bring. I make PB&J sandwiches everyday for work while coworkers buy lunch and coffee and snacks so that I can put my money aggresively away into retirement accounts. I enjoyed tuturoing math, explaining things over and over again, in different ways, until the students finally get it. Until last year, I didn't realize I had a quota on my patience. I just thought it was a virtue of mine - an endless well of patience. Yes, I have no children yet, that would have clued me in that there is a finite amount of patience that I have. Instead, work has worn it down. In a way I think it's good, I've learned to deal with certain things that patience would have taken care of. But I'm not here to discuss work. Instead, I just wanted to explain, that I'm back in the range of the average folk, with an average level of patience (some more days than others). And I wasn't patient last week.

I've been picking up my produce boxes each week - and although full of surprises and a delight to open, I was starting to wane on what to cook up each week. So last week, I went to the grocery store and bought some additional produce (think I mentioned it in previous post). I bought some tomatoes and potatoes and onions and almost bought some fresh herbs but opted to "borrow" some from my neighbor (which I never did get around to). Now, I love that I eat produce grown down the road from me. That I pick it up by bicycling with a back pack to lug it all home. And I eat food that is in season and available. Or at least I tried for a month. I almost made it. I should have had that thing called faith they keep talking about.

What the $%^& is she talking about? Patience, food, what? Yes, I'm a little loopy today and incoherrent, but I have a point. (Heat is not my friend). Yesterday I thought I might be able to drive to pick up the food since the weaherman said it would be in the 90s. Turns out that the weird weather we are having means its 90s in some parts and 60s in neighboring areas. Very strange. So even though it was humid, there was this pleasent and unusual cool sea breeze. I was a little chilly biking up to the food pick up. And guess what I got this week. I've been getting lettuce, squach, zuccini, and than a surprise or two for the last few weeks.

This week I got lettuce, zuccini, some more kohlrabi - very familiar. But the rest of the box? It was filled with huge bunches of parsley and basil and cillantro and what I thought were chives but realized at home that they were scallions. And there were some potatoes (the small red kind that I just bought) and some really fresh onions (sweet white like I just bought) Are you starting to see a pattern? I didn't get any tomatoes thankfully but got some delicious fresh carrots that have almost disappeared (I had some garlic hummus - great snack).

So the point is, I should have just been patient and waited. The food was coming. I just never know what to expect. But I've learned my lesson. Work with what you've got (or in my case are given). The herbs are wonderful - in beautiful full bunches, roots still intact so are sitting in glasses of water in a wonderful meledy on top of the fridge (else the boys would attack). They are so fragrent. And the onions - I've never bought onions like that. There is no paper layer like skins, but moist thick fresh meat exposed, and the tops are cut off much higher, so they have necks. I can't wait to taste them.

In knitting news, I got tons of compliment on the tank I just finished and wore for the first time this week. I really should press it, as the edge around the armpits kept curling under. It's in the "to-do" pile. I still have to pick up the remaining balls cece bought for me to finish the orange cardigan I was working on until I ran out of yarn. So instead of finishing up old projects, I've cast on a summer cotton pattern by kate gilber called Keyhole Top from the spring 2007 issue of Interweave Knits. I won't run out of yarn for this one since I'm using the slate cotton yarn from the never ending cone (I knit and knit one sweater after another, hundreds even, and the cone is still the same size). I like the back which is exposed. I'm almost done the waisteband and am thinking of adjusting the bottom so that it doesn't flare as much and will not do the decreases in the bust as the pattern recommends for those of us without much of a bust line. I keep trying to start another sweater wrap, but can't get the right gauge. I keep trying different yarns and needle sizes, and nothing. I'll post once it is officially started - I am determined to knit it and am going to try doubling up the yarn to see if that works tonight. It should be a fast project. Oh, and I've decided to redo the Simply Marilyn sweater that was a bit too short for me. It's been long enough. Time has healed. I haven't worn it more than once or twice. I can start ripping. Looking through old posts, it was back in October I finished it - 9 months ago. So tonight, I take notes, make adjustments, and turn the sweater back into balls of yarn. Wish me well.