Thursday-9:15am

Today is a gauzy, filtered-sun morning, but we had several that looked all blue and white since we last spoke.

Several days ago this awkward, skinny, green crane was working over at the emerging apartment building.  Doesn't it look like a praying mantis or a walking stick or some other exotic, extremely thin creature? 

And this is for Iggy.  The orange cones were gathered up last weekend...looks like they were having two very separate parties.  Could there be division in the ranks?

Sunday I couldn't leave a window cracked for very long because it was so chilly.  Monday it was 93 degrees!  Yup--93 degrees!  We've had so very few days one could open the windows so far this spring that I didn't want to shut the place up and put on the AC.  Instead I gathered my three fans, one by one, from storage and the garage...suffered through the worst part of the day...not realizing what the heat would do to the roses!

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Woke up the next morning and all but two of them had collapsed.  They didn't survive the heat blast.    

Been in the mid 80s every day since (have resisted the AC), so the final two roses had given up the ghost by the next day.  They are now all hanging upside-down in the closet drying and will make a sweet bouquet that will last for years.  

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Meanwhile--this gimpy snail-woman finished gluing the covers.  Pressed them overnight with waxed paper in between so they didn't stick together.

I have already learned so much with this project.  

1. Thin papers do not work well on covers because they pucker, buckle, wrinkle, and are very difficult to manipulate into the proper position.  
2. I have to take the thickness of the cover board into consideration when chopping corners for mitering.  
3. The davy board was really difficult for me to cut evenly with my bum arm so I think I'll wait to use the rest of it until Leah has her saw and tools set up in their garage--LOL!  
4. But--I remembered a lot!  Especially--how to actually do the coptic stitch without having to go back and look at the video 150 times!  
5. I was much better with the glue (had a stack of newspapers at the ready and a wet cloth for my fingers) so that I had much less random, shiny glue blobs on the covers in the end.  
6. And I just plain totally enjoy bookbinding, even if I am not that good at it...yet.  ;)

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Another huge benefit to having messed up so many things in my learning process...these journals (the smaller four) have so many flaws that they are not intimidating to me!!  Whoohoo!!  Plus, having finally been using the small green one I made years ago, I have already learned that there's no way to keep them clean and tidy no matter how hard I try.  The misters and various paints just seem to get loose and escape the confines of the page spread at hand every time.  Maybe I am just too juicy when I work--LOL!  

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I also trimmed the one torn edge on all the signatures, organized them, then used the various templates and punched all the holes.  They're sitting here on the table waiting to be sewn together...and I already have the waxed threads picked out, measured, and cut.  They aren't even finished yet...but I can tell...these four don't scare me.  :)

BTW--I have a heavy plastic sheeting that protects the craft table that's always on the table, so that's the glare you often see in my photos.  Without it, my wooden table would have been a disaster years ago.  

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Anyways, what was Karma doing on these hot afternoons?

Trying to catch her 1,040 winks.

But she cannot resist tracking the swallows... 

...who are loudly and cheerfully...

...building a home... 

...somewhere very close to our balcony.  

All the ruckus makes it difficult for a snoopy, bird-lovin cat... 

...to get in her five hour nap--ROFL! 

She manages, though.  ;)

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Karma really does like birds.  We had a mean little emotionally disturbed cockatiel when Karma was little.  Karma would sit by her cage and gently try to put her paw in the big bird home--and Gracie would lunge at her.  (I'm sure Karma had probably been bitten at some point early on in their relationship, but that didn't deter her from wanting to play with her nasty, only friend.)  Every time Gracie flew down on the floor Karma would follow her all over the place (at a safe distance) meowing to beat the band...begging Gracie to play with her.  Gracie would be strutting about squawking--get this cat away from me--I hate her!  I hate her!

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  Gracie hated and was terrified of everybody.  I've managed to tame nasty, frightened rescue birds in the past, but after five years Gracie drew blood on me one too many times so that I finally gave up and gave her to a breeder.  Gracie was only happier being with other birds--but the breeder said Gracie didn't seem to like boys, either.  Luckily the breeder didn't care.  She was with the bird society up here and had several cockatiels who just all hung out together and never paired off.  Gracie was happy, but still not very nice--LOL!  I always hoped Gracie learned to at least trust other birds, poor thing.

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Anyways, I digress.  

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Dagan, Leah, and I have all been waiting for Dexter to come out on Netflix.  We made a pact that whoever got disc one of season seven first--we'd watch it over at their place because they have the big TV screen.  It was supposed to arrive at my place on Tuesday, but no DVD.  Came yesterday, though.  So, Leah picked me up after work and we had a Dexter marathon last night!  I actually got the first two DVDs--so you know what I'll be watching today.  Dagan is going to come by tomorrow and pick up the second one so they can watch it.  I don't want to wait--LOL!  (And they obviously don't either since I don't even have BlueRay--ROFL!!)

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Well, we went from winter to summer, I guess.  Possible rain and thunderstorms every day through Sunday is predicted.  I've been hearing geese all morning.  And here I just mentioned to Leah yesterday how I haven't heard many geese lately and maybe they had all passed through already.  Not so.  Endless honking geese this morning.  Love their flight choir.  :)

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Sore from my visit, but contented.  

Off to watch my favorite serial killer... 

Summer has apparently arrived.

Can the mosquitoes be far behind... 

Have a wonderful, safe weekend.

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"If you think you're too small to have an impact, try going to bed with a mosquito in the room."

Anita Roddick