A break in the heat

We're getting some rain and it's bringing down temps.  Instead of 105*, it's 99, but it's below a hundred and the rain is causing everything to perk up a little.  Trying to work outside yesterday at 10am was sweaty and the humidity was too high to find any comfort, so I came inside.  They say, it's not the heat, it's the humidity.

I spent a couple days working on the new bedspread.  We're loving it.  It's such a good match to the room. Of course, within a couple minutes of making it, a dog walks across and it doesn't look like this anymore, but  even rumpled, it looks really nice.  

Next up is the bed skirt.  It's going to be solid blue, the shade of the wide stripes.  I'm waiting on a zipper to make the decorative pillows and will reupholster the headboard at some point.  And, there are three small throw pillows to make.  It seems overwhelming, but I'm sure I can do it as long as I don't try to do it all at once.  I've learned that when I do that, I get tired and stop thinking through solutions and start grabbing the quickest and easiest so I can finish the project and move on.  There are several large projects around here that show the signs of that.  Better to know it and accept it than keep doing it over and over.  I feel a specific kind of anxiety when it's happening and recognize it's time to put it down...not put it away, which takes more time, but put it down and walk away and go do something else.  

I bought this orchid at the grocery yesterday.  A couple years ago, when I was first learning about orchids, I bought one like this, with the green, brown and gold color combination.  And, I promptly killed it.  I've been looking for another since and haven't seen one, so I've collected a few others to keep me interested and they're all doing really well.  It was all about finding a level of neglect that I could manage.  When I saw this one in the grocery yesterday, I wanted it bad, but it was the most expensive orchid I've ever bought and I walked away.  I finished my shopping near the place where I started and there was the orchid and I decided to heck with it and brought it home.  I did take it out of the pot and check the roots because the last one I bought at the grocery was missing it's pot and the potting medium was molded and it had a lot of rotten roots, so I had to repot it while it's still in bloom, which I usually won't do.  Always check the roots!

Some of the phlox that have perked up after the rain.  

Watched this bumblebee crawl in and around and then out of almost every flower on the turk's cap.  Busy bee, doing his work.

I didn't eat all my blueberries last week...or the week before, or the week.......anyway, I had an excess, so I made a blueberry buckle.  Never made a buckle before.  It's like a coffeecake that's not too sweet, with a crumb topping.  Anyway, I wrote that recipe down and put it in my box because I know we're going to want that again.  

I've helped a co-worker with a data project over the last few weeks.  She's newer to the job and branching out into the stuff that's not in our objectives and wanted to learn a new skill.  It took FOREVER, and we had to start over three times, but on Friday, we ended up with something that she can present to her team in their meeting today.  I didn't just help her pull the numbers.  I explained how to pull them, what they meant, how to manipulate them to make them tell a story.  Twice, while we were writing that story, we found a flaw and I showed her how easy that is to do and how easy it is to start over.  Passing on what I know.  Sharing it with my peers.  Laughing and being frustrated together as we figured this out.  It was worth every minute I sunk into that project with her, even when I didn't have time to spare.  

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They're banning The Diary of Anne Frank because it only presents one side of the story.  

The bible only tells one side of the story too, so let's ban it!  Let's ban it right now!  

Everybody have a good week.  Keep your chin up.  Hug your loved ones.  Change is coming, so enjoy what we have today.  

Lane