Eye of Newt and Toe of Frog

Wool of bat and tongue of dog. In other words a little bit of everything in this blog post is being thrown into the cauldron. And it's been hot enough too. We've had 3 days of thunderstorm warnings and as many days on fire watch. I don't handle heat well. It makes me grumpy. It also means I spend a good portion of my early mornings doing things I would rather do at other times. It saps both my ambition and creativity. As I write this I hear the latest thunderstorm booming in the distance. The Klamath Falls area and upwards towards Crater Lake seems to be the most recent strong path.
Fingers crossed there is rain with it. These storm clouds do make for some beautiful sunsets though.



But hot mornings have had some charms too. I caught the boys having their after breakfast nap. This one a twofer.



Usually one of them stands guard but really what for. I guess after 16 years together they figure a few dual naps are safe enough, except for that camera lady. Maybe she's got carrots?

The two barn cats have been unceremoniously tossed from the basement until winter. It's time they earned their keep and do some much needed mousing around the barn. They do get called in for a light morning meal. Union rules.



 They can be either sweet or evil with each other. This was  sweet morning, bowls okay to be close.

A raccoon was waiting in the woods for leftovers, there were none. I do stand guard for them.

It can all turn quickly though but these two girls have developed an affection for each other. Juno has the white paws, Prissy no white at all.

The garden has already passed it showiest time, now it's all about the hummers. Zauschneria (California fuchsia), is starting to bloom, bee balm, Lucifer crocosmia and hummingbird mint are all
on the menu. The shasta daisies had a vibrant but short run. I should have gotten pics. I need to get something better than this!



Inside, the Tour de Fleece wrapped up. I didn't make my goal of having all of the Songs of the River spun up, but I did spin every single day.  And I did sell the Schacht Matchless.



 He was adopted by a gal in Iowa and is much loved I'm told.

Gene turned 61 last Sunday. There was cake and presents. Most years he goes paragliding on his birthday but because of the Red Flag warnings and the fact that flying would likely be awful anyway, he stayed home. A mixed blessing. ;-) He also shared this gem with me of their Monday night training.



The volunteer fire and rescue department have burned donated cars, practiced on them with the Jaws of life and work every single week on some aspect of fire or medical emergencies. I knew something was up when Gene took the ketchup from the fridge to go....

Two lovely Cashmerette Websters came out of the salon. Oh my are they cool and comfortable to wear. You can tell a favorite pattern by the fabric I use. Both of these are from fabrics I have held back for a number of years I love them so much. The grey scale mushroom print I have hoarded until the perfect pattern came along.





The butter linen supplied me with a much loved Sewing Workshop Liberty top (still going strong) and I used the last 2 yards +- on this Webster tunic.





 I have to say this linen is probably some of the nicest I have ever had and the color is so beautiful. I made a couple of changes to the sleeveless pattern. I squared the armhole a bit, allowing for more freedom of movement reaching out to the front (think weaving). I used a neck facing only and did a bias binding on the armholes. Oh and side seam pockets. Faster, a little cooler and much less fussy. Win win!

Some fun fabric made it into stash. This is actually a navy blue background.



Fabrics are going on sale and I have done some stash building. More next post.

For those that want to read all of the Song of the Witches, here you go!

Did That Just Happen?

Good-bye ACA. I was thrilled to have affordable health care after years of being unable to
get any because of Lupus. I am expecting that our premiums will be so high and coverage so poor, it won't be worth buying. I am also fully prepared to bypass treatment if it should mean family bankruptcy. What a choice huh?

The speech to the BSA jamboree was bad and not normal nor okay. It sure looked like a tip to the Hitler youth groups to me. And then of course, another venting in Ohio last night. This man is just not right.

Let's close with something fun like who will play the next 007? :-)

Parting shots: Roughing it...

Or Not!