September 07, 2007
Armed and, Apparently, Not Dangerous At All
The moss on my driveway that almost caused my early (ish) demise has won the battle, won the war.
A few days after I went arse over teakettle, with white-hot hate in my heart, I attacked the moss the only way I knew how: with bleach and a knife. (About the knife. TMK approaches gardening projects standing up, all big and butch, in a tank top, and with large, manly tools: shovels, rakes, tillers, lawnmowers, wheelbarrows, he-man shears. Me, I sit, most likely wearing a cutesy t-shirt with pastel flowers and butterflies on it, and…poke at things with a knife. And one knife in particular, a wood-handled, serrated jobby, the only remaining member of a long-ago set. If the project doesn’t fit the knife or the knife doesn’t fit the project, I’m in over my head, and it’s TMK to the rescue.) So, I squirted the moss with what supposedly was a lethal cocktail of water and bleach, let it dry for a day, sat down with my legs daintily tucked to the side, and attacked it with my trusty knife, only to discover that the bleach and the drying had caused the moss to adhere even more firmly to the driveway. And while I could peel up some of it, a thin but cement-like dusting of it had settled inaccessibly between all the lumpy, bumpy bits of aggregate, making, if nothing else, a roux for more moss, given the right conditions like, oh, I don’t know, a Seattle winter. Then it rained, and the moss is now as slimy and dangerous as ever, only deadish and adhered like SuperGlue, so now it can’t be removed at’all. So I've called in backups from ManLand and somebody with a Y chromosome and something called a pressure washer should be showing up sometime this month to torture the moss the way it deserves.
I wonder if I can get him to work around the baby ants?
In re Olympic Squirrel, good suggestions, all, but I’m leaning toward doing the i-cord “backwards,” as Laurie (and my friend LindaK) suggested or the hemmed collar that Ruth suggested since both the bottom of the sweater and the sleeves have hemmed edges. In the meantime, let’s look at some pretty yarn, shall we?
In December of 2006 (having a blog allows one to remember important dates this way), I discovered my BYF, sort of like BFF, Best Friend Forever, only Best Yarn Forever, Trekking sock yarn. I had been going hot and heavy with Lorna’s Laces for a while with an occasional bootie call with Regia, some passionate back-seat necking with Opal, and a little smooching in the janitorial closet with Fixation, but when Elaine introduced me to Trekking, I threw my little knitting black book out, or at least ripped out the sock-yarn pages. Which explains why last Saturday, when TMK and I were at Village Yarn & Tea, I had a retail accident (there was moss on the floor; what can I say?) and brought these two lovelies home with me, a denim-blue-and-medium-colors variegated and a navy variegated which especially makes me say "hubba hubba" but which TMK has already claimed for herself.
I will not kiss my monitor. I will not kiss my monitor. I will not kiss my monitor. I will not kiss my monitor. I will not kiss my monitor.
But is it ok if we readers pet the monitor a little?
Posted by: MaryB in Richmond on September 7, 2007 12:58 PMooo, I have the denim colorway and loved it so much I bought two skeins. I wanted socks AND a scarf. I think I saw someone else had done a scarf which is what started the love affair.
But then again, they may end up like so many of my favorite skeins...unknitted because nothing I make will do them justice.
Thank goodness I didn't see that other colorway or I would have 4 skeins all with the same fate.
Posted by: Laurie on September 7, 2007 01:36 PMyum.
Posted by: Carrie on September 7, 2007 01:51 PMYou're the one who bought it!! Dangit!
I had the skein on the right in my hands, but put it back. Went back Monday, and it was gone.
Good form! :)
Posted by: Libby on September 7, 2007 01:58 PMYou will probably be startled to learn that some people actually make moss art by scooping the stuff up, putting it in a blender with some water and then pouring it out in a specific design in a shady corner of their garden. As you've discovered, moss is surprisingly sturdy. I hope the guy from Manland wins the moss battle!
Posted by: Kristen on September 7, 2007 02:51 PMI hope the pressure sprayer works! If not, you could always move to Fiji, and get a sheep and a cow, and breed horses.
(Don't forget the water wings.)
Posted by: Erika on September 7, 2007 03:41 PMMy mother, a most decidedly un-butch woman, used to remove moss from our driveway with a hose and a sprayer nozzle set to kill. Turn the water on full blast, aim at approx. a 45° angle, and blast the hell out of it.
Posted by: jen on September 7, 2007 04:30 PMSO glad to see the Trekking photos--I'd had the nagging feeling that I had cornered the market. I don't feel so bad now....
Posted by: Janine on September 7, 2007 04:39 PMThe one on the left!! OO Ooo I had a ball of that once but my mother, the beeotch (just kidding) ran off to Montana with it! I still miss it and cry into my pillow at night when I think of it's betrayl... I can't knit in Trekking XXL blue colors anymore, the pain is still too fresh.
Posted by: Meghan on September 7, 2007 04:55 PMI'm a trekking virgin. After this post, I better go out and see what I've been missing!
Posted by: Brenda on September 7, 2007 06:49 PMSo, how does one get lipstick off a monitor, anyway?
Posted by: Betty on September 7, 2007 09:18 PMThat sock yarn is so pretty I had to look at an online store immediately to see what other color combinations were available. Eye candy!
The navy Trekking is lovely. I made socks for DH in that color, and liked them so much I made a pair for myself as well. They're neutral and colorful at the same time. Fun!
While reading your moss story all I could think of was "Ryan, get thee a pressure washer!" But you figured that one out all by your lonesome. :)
I resisted pressure washing the driveway for a long time, because I didn't want to blow all the aggregate out of the concrete. I still won't do it often, but when the moss build up gets too bad it's the only thing that really works.
Posted by: Denise in Kent, WA on September 8, 2007 12:06 PMDenise, I'm a little worried about the aggregate getting blown out, too, but I already have it in mind to get the driveway repaved. But any cost will be worth a little peace of mind this rainy winter!
Posted by: Ryan on September 8, 2007 12:20 PMi'm not going to kiss the monitor. i'm gonna lick it! i love trekking. i've worked in 2 different colorways, and enjoyed it both times. i've got another ball in the bedroom, waiting for just the right pattern to come along (in purples!)
Posted by: minnie on September 8, 2007 08:13 PMRyan, I use a 20 to 30% vinegar solution on my moss. Less obnoxious to me. It takes a few days for the stuff to die. I try to do it often enough that the smallish amount of dead moss breaks down and washes away before new moss starts to grow. Still need to pressure wash the drive every few years.
I have yet to add any Trekking to my sock yarn stash. Just a matter of time, I'm sure.
Posted by: KarenJoSeattle on September 9, 2007 04:26 AMYummers! I made a pair of socks out of the colorway on the left, and they're fabbo. I can't wait until it's cold enough to wear them. I also have to have this baby so that my ankles will return, but hopefully the latter will be happening long before the former.
Posted by: Ruth on September 10, 2007 06:15 AMI'm pretty much with licking the monitor. Too much fun. I love my trekking socks, because they are thin enough to wear in sneakers, look terrific and are incredibly comfortable (especially now that it is getting cooler up in the Boston area).
Thankfully my feet are just dainty enough that if I don't make a long socks, then I can get 2 pairs from a single skein.
Posted by: Seanna Lea on September 10, 2007 01:22 PM