The zen of weed-pulling and knitting button-bands

So, when I'm not knitting Jackaroo sweaters that fit my 9-almost-10 year old daughter

I can be found puttering in my vegetable garden. When we first moved from a townhouse, with a postage-stamp sized lot, to this house on a massive (for in the city) 1/4 acre lot I had all kinds of grand plans for big vegetable gardens. We fenced off and planted a garden the first year that due to lack of time and therefore lack of weeding was a dismal disappointment. Every year I begin again with new enthusiasm. I'm an incurable optimist you see. After last year's worst-ever gardening disaster I vowed this would be the year for vegetable success. And so far it's looking pretty good.

I am so very pleased with my tidy rows of potatoes, onions, lettuce and soon to be carrots and beans. My friend who is using a corner of our garden encourages me as I can't have my part of the garden blowing weed seeds into hers. That just doesn't seem right at all. This has nothing to do with my competitive side. Not at all. I can live in denial if I want to...
I find it almost meditative to go out there everyday and quietly pull weeds and help the peas to climb up the trellis and make sure the potatoes aren't being attacked by potato bugs. It's good for the soul and eventually will be good for our food budget especially with The Boy turning 13 at the end of the month.

(my herb bed with new parsley, basil and rosemary)

Now that my daughter's Jackaroo sweater is all sewn up I can move onto knitting the neckline and dealing with the problem of fastening the thing in the front. The pattern calls for i-cord worked up both sides with one side having gaps in the sewing for button holes. However due to my, ahem, lack of checking gauge, the sides are a bit too narrow for that and I'm going to have to come up with another solution. I'm thinking I'm going to need to knit ribbed button bands up both sides to widen it. I'd like to add a zipper rather than buttons. (my apologies to Amy Herzog. I suspect being a knitter she knows this sort of massacre to her beautiful pattern was going to happen anyway)
My daughter wants me to add a hood but I'm thinking I'm about done with this and I'd like it to end already. I'd like to see her wearing it so I can admire my mad knitting skills. Mostly I want closure so I can start another project guilt-free.