Good news, baskets and towels

The medical testing went fine, no issues at all,  even the thing they spotted two weeks ago had gone away. So all's well, and thank you for your kind words and notes.

Home to Textiles and Tea and 

a basket maker working in twined fiber, embroidery floss over wire. She's interested in mythology and how it intersects with current situations. 

And she has a daily blog.

Before you go over there, take a look at her work. She started life as a painter then moved on to fiberarts when basketry appeared, after a foray into clay. Clay is too clumsy a medium for her fine lines and profiles, and twined fiber works better for her ideas.

Here she is in front of some of her materials

Fallen wings of Icarus, life-sized and can be attached to a person.

Cranes here, threatened by predator snakes

These are all poisonous plants, as in folklore

This linen thread as a drawing

She's a wildly inventive and fearless artist never repeats herself, only accepts commissions that fit what she already does. 

When people start to list what they want in a piece she declines the commission and gives them first refusal on her next piece instead. I find that an elegant approach to inappropriate demands.

She was a welcome soft landing after a tense day getting the exams done and read and the relief of a good verdict. 

I don't know if I can do this again. This is the third false alarm I've had, and at this age I am wondering how I'd handle a sad diagnosis. 

I certainly think radiation and chemo and the accompanying side effects are hardly worth it at my age with my life expectancy. 

I had already told Handsome Son that if it came to that, I'd do the least possible and get pain relief but not look for a cure or even remission. I'll bring it up to my doctor, again, when I see her next month. At this point I even resent the two weeks of worrying about the recall.

Happy day everyone, relief is lovely, and I was cheered by having a dishy Lyft driver home, Muhammad. I favorited him on my report (!)

 Here's the pancakes you may have seen on YouTube sizzling, served with macerated apples and nectarines. Breakfast of Queens.

And, since I'm getting my bathroom renovated a bit, if the contractor artist friend ever comes back to continue, he's taking longer than ever before, but I digress, I decided to ditch my threadbare towels.

Here's the replacements, hand towels and bath towels for both bathrooms, in fact very nice sage and mid green but photographing as grey. 

The old ones are decades old and really ready to be floor cloths. The new ones will go nicely with the peach walls in one bathroom and the pale blue in the other.

And here's the second sighting in over 35 years in this neighborhood of deer. There were twin fawns, still with juvenile coats, and the doe. They let me get close before moving on.  Couldn't catch both fawns at once, so typical of kids, different directions.

It's like herding artists, sez Ted and Big Ursy and Pony and Ursula 

Monday, Monday, bees and mantids

This morning turned out to be fine after all. Everything normal despite looking weird before. What a relief. So I've spent time emailing and messaging people who needed to know, including  you, dear blogistas, who gave me such moral support. I did make a change in yesterday's post, to let you know promptly.

And once again the lousy radiation group website sent me a diagnostic letter which would not open on any of three devices I tried, from the link they sent, or from a couple of links I found on line. All their support function could say was consult my own doctor. About their letter they'd sent. 

I did, messaged them on their portal and literally within minutes, they sent me a link which worked, confirming it's all normal, I can resume breathing. I have a great doctor and nurse team.

So the rest of the day has been lovely, walking in the sunshine, real and metaphorical, observing butterflies -- a silver spot showed up where I've seen him before, many little brown skippers. And this friend, Boy Mantis

There was a comic scene with a squirrel who spotted the cantaloupe rind I'd put out for him, he's mad for it. He picked it up, then spotted me, a few feet away, hesitated then decided to go for it. 

Leapt up the fence, the end of the rind caught the top, both fell down again. Clearly this was now personal, and he watched me watching him, then seized the rind again,  and cleverly bit off the pointed end, took another leap and made it, rind and all, onto the fence, then vanished, holding the rind about half his body size. He deserved it after that labor.

About the bee I mentioned on the sedum, I checked this Bee Chart, and the nearest to him seems to be the Tree Bumblebee. That seems likely.

My postcards to voters arrived, complete with instructions, and an electoral list of the voters I'm writing to. 

As you see, graphic on one side, the other blank. I get to fill it out.

They suggest message wording, and I'll adapt to my own style, as I did last time I did postcarding. I get going writing now, then mail them all out on the suggested date in early October. 

This has been figured out to allow for mail delays and  timeliness. No use reminding people too early, they forget. I know from previous experience this is an effective way to get out the vote. For someone like me, not a door knocker, but literate enough to be happy doing kitchen table activism, it's a good fit.

Happy day, everyone, I hope you get any good news you're hoping for. 

I'm continuing with the Great Jane Caper, now bingeing on an eighties BBC series of Mansfield Park. Great actors -- Lady Bertram played by Angela Pleasence, what a talented family, remember brilliant Donald Pleasence in Barchester Towers?-- and Anna Massey, from another talented family, another wonder of an actor.

Neither is in this publicity still (!) but you may recognize these actors? I don't.

Enjoy your day!