A walk and an invitation

Friday morning, another hot day to come, I walked to the pond in the shade 

Here's the frog beach, this morning packed with jumpers, who leapt away into the phragmites grass when they spotted me.

And here's an invitation. Caption this 

I did this on spoutible and got some wonderful takes. So if you want to join in, please do. You've seen it before but I hadn't realized what good caption material it makes.

It's an antidote to the news.

And I continue to empty the kitchen. And find items I forgot I had. Offering this handy big metal tray on Freecycle 

I've had it for decades, picked up on a posh Western Princeton (read one per cent) street after the recyclers wouldn't take it. Sheet iron, they were collecting aluminum.  But I now have other useful trays and don't need this collectible one. It had ghastly olde worlde floral designs until I enameled it white and liked it much more.

Happy day everyone, if you don't like something, paint it.

Meanwhile the late afternoon weather 

The good news was I didn't have to go out in feels like 104°f to water the plants. Massive rainstorm.

Misfits, a walk in the park, a Month in the Country

Out early Thursday morning before the heat arrived, I did a walk I haven't done for a while, across to the park.

It involves crossing another development, climbing up a little slope and then you're on the perimeter path.  Very pretty, interesting trees, quite a few planted since I was last here, plenty of friendly early morning walkers out, and both further and with a higher degree of difficulty (!) than my pond walk.

That was a good feeling, because it really was a pain free walk despite bits of climbing, then home to feel smug.

And I've been emptying the kitchen bit by bit, no need for weight exercises, swinging all kinds of appliances and lugging crates and dishes round two corners, then the shelves they were on 

Misfits arrived around noon, so that was more weight exercises.

Canned goods for the food pantry, bread because I'm operating field-kitchen style and not baking, that's my story, beautiful brown free range eggs, olive oil because I'm nearly out, surprising how much I get through, yum plums, vital yogurt and equally vital chocolate cherries. 

Good food and walking are two mainstays around here.

That and endless entertainment from neighbors, several visits from Gary, watering my outdoor plants,  conferring about hearing aids, he's finally going for it, flowering shrubs, his speed crazed vacation on mountain roads, loved it, one visit from another neighbor about her health issues and where was my car and her cat's arthritis. Never a dull moment.

The heat set in again Thursday, so the afternoon was about being indoors reading King short stories, and a murder mystery, Queen of Poisons.  And drawing, see below.

A____n does this weird thing when you keep reading your Kindle. They send all kinds of attempts to sell you books that may not suit you, but they'd like to move them. And if you mostly borrow books, they're really desperate to make a sale. 

All kinds of books appear on your screen, some you'd like but not for that money,  all the way to some they're practically paying you to take. 

This is how I now have a complete Turgenev, because the algorithm leapt from Writers and Lovers to there. It makes computer sense when you think about it, but zero literary sense. But at 99c minus my 99c credit, the price is right.

One summer as a teen I read all the Russian novels in my town library, in North Yorkshire typical freezing summer weather, great Carnegie endowed library. 

But they didn't have any Turgenev. There  were Tolstoy, Chekhov, Gogol, Dostoevsky, but it's taken till now to check out Turgenev.

Which may prove that algorithms now and then work, or that some people don't know when to quit.  If I eat chocolate cherries while I read Turgenev I'll have a permanent sense memory, as I do of the winegums I ate through Great Expectations.

You really never know what branch lines my train of thought might find itself on.

But drawing continues. Here's today's drawing leaning again its model. In the background on the mantelpiece are the earlier ones you saw.

And here's a closeup 

Happy day everyone, stay cool or warm depending on which hemisphere you're reading from sez

Ted and Big Ursy 

A mini stroll on the deck early Wednesday

Wednesday morning was cool and bright, and the plants, indoors and out, like it.

Catch the monarch butterfly up there?

Lovely second blossom on the orchid.

Then a walk down to the pond, disturbing frogs 

The rabbit is still there, overtaken by foliage 

Home again to online chair yoga AARP style. 

It went about fifty minutes and I shortened the poses here and there, a bit long for my stamina. She addressed practically every body part! It was pretty good. I modified some of the warrior poses, because of a bit of sciatic tenderness. But Wednesday I definitely got back to moving after no walk Tuesday.

Later afternoon tea and drawing on the deck. 

Curry leaf plant in front of Japanese maple, groundcover.

Happy day, everyone, move it! Or don't. It's your body!

Knitting group, Textiles and Tea, irish linen

Today's knitting group was the biggest ever. Ten people at the largest point. Mostly beginners wanting lessons,  but the prepared librarian had flyers about beginner projects and tools and yarn. 

So a couple of younger people created bookmarks from the instructions, needing little help, and three other friends, with their children, learned a crochet chain from the member who is willing to show them. 

And she also worked on repairing moth damage in a red cape, inventively doing needle felting.

Conversation was largely about the work at hand, but also ranged over wearing capes, European trains, drawn thread work, convent teaching in dress making and the fiber arts, teaching voice, hip replacement, Tai chi camp, knitting needles on planes,  and more.

It was good to be in the group again. My own project is not going well. I may reduce it to balls of yarn and think again. 

Textiles and Tea was about the work of a weaver's weaver, Laura Fry, whose yardage for designers is famous, along with her meticulous finishing techniques and the ergonomics of working at a floor loom. 

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She wrote a classic book about weaving better and has a blog, on Blogger, Weaving a Life, for which I signed up as a follower, where she gives excellent technical advice.

Speaking of fabric, I ordered a length of beautiful Irish linen from Burnley and Trowbridge, enough to make a dress. Or something else nice. I love handling linen.

And this is historically accurate to design. Think Georgette Heyer, Faro's Daughter...

This may be enough fiber for today. But I have good news: next Wednesday the work will start on my kitchen wall.

And, in among all the sad and bad political happenings

Happy day everyone. Protect your peace. Make art

Dieffenbachia and philodendron