Ow, ow and ouch!

$600.

Yes folks, that's how much it took to get my faithless vehicle out of jail, um, the mechanics place. What's worse is that it likely needs another couple hundred dollars worth of work done on it. Sadly neither my credit card nor budget can do that this month. *sigh*

And just to add a little fun and entertainment to the mix, my knee has started acting up again. You see, I've had a chronic knee problem since I was 12. I've done a variety of stupid, idiotic and painful things to it over the years - torn ligaments, dislocated kneecap, etc., etc..... I won't bore anyone with the gory details... Well, after the zoo trip with DS#2's class it started bothering me again - to the point where I saw a dr. about it for the first time in the better part of 12 years. Generally I just hobble along on my own when it acts up and it really hasn't been that bothersome until lately. One anti-inflammatory prescription later and much rest, ice, compression & elevation (ahhh, good old RICE) I was feeling better, but not quite my old self.

This week I got very tired of just sitting around and not getting any exercise, so I thought I would just try some gentle toning movements - some squats, leg lifts - easy easy, no impact and slow movements..... And now I'm limping again and discovering the joys of a bag of frozen peas applied liberally.....

Off to the dr. this afternoon. I feel an orthopedic surgeon in my near future. Bugger!

In other, more interesting and less whiny news, all this sitting about has got me plugging away on my remaining model at a good clip. However, I did decide to take a little break and finish off a really, really, really old UFO from a class I took at CSNF waaay back around 2001 IIRC. I was almost finished but ran out of the #8 perle cotton I needed to finish it - in two colours. I was lazy about getting more #8 and just put it off and put it off. Well, I finally ordered the last of the fibre and decided I'd finish it off.

A Dragon's Quilt

Copyright © Dragon Dreams

Stitched on 28-count Cobblestone Linen by Zweigart using recommended fibres (DMC Rayon, perle cotton, Kreinik #4 braid and DMC floss)

I really enjoyed stitching this piece originally and have no idea why I never ordered the fibres I needed and finished it years ago. Oh well, it's done now!

My garden has moved into hyper-blooming phase and many things are busting out all over.... Here are a few pictures of some of the things that are blooming today....

This is a daylily of unknown type. I rescued the daylily from a friend's garden - she had an overabundance of ditchweed at we call it.... I really love the colour of this lily - very rich and vibrant!

This is one of my Morning Glories. I plant these every year and usually by now they are thick with leaves and blooms. This year they are very scraggly and just not doing well overall. But, I am getting some very large blooms as this one shows.

This is one of my Hybrid Tea roses - Chrysler Imperial. Last year I had a really bad case of black spot on my roses but so far this year they are remaining spot-free and they're blooming quite well, all things considered. This rosebush has at least 4 other buds working their way towards a full bloom. My other Hybrid Tea rose is called Tropicana which was my grandmother's favorite rose. It'll be blooming in another day or two.

Off to get some things done!