heat makes us slow

new books completed today

three new Irish linen beeswaxed threads

I am suffering from the heat this summer in a different way. We have been enjoying the energy savings of living without air conditioning during the days this summer except when the themometer goes over 90ºF . Like I said earlier, in Washington DC that means it is muggy ninety degrees which feels more like 100º in the house. Today was not that hot so we have been hanging out without the air conditioner. I feel kind of lazy but I have drawing group tonight where I can make it cool and I did have a good start to the day before I got the bogged down feeling this afternoon. I finished sewing two new books to add to the 9 I have completed for the Light in October crafts sale. I used the new supplies I bought from last week's trip to the Bookmaker's supply shop out in old college park maryland. There I got some new yards of book cloth and these fine imported linen thread coated with beeswax to make them stick in a knot when I use them in the book binding process. I was dying to have some new colors but they are very expensive and they last for ever. Both made me hesitate to choose but I got home and realized I now have a rainbow of colors. Original threads were red, natural linen and navy blue, the new colors I got are all secondary colors on the color wheel. Orange ( you know I wanted that before but I didn't get it until now) dark green and purple. So my first book was ready to sew with purple today I completed an orange book and next will be a dark green book.

The garden is still going strong but it may be a little tired of the heat too. Day lilies are almost done but the summer phlox are doing great and there are blue balloon flowers and colorful coleus this year a new addition. You can go see some of my recent photos on flickr from the garden. I don't post them all here on the blog.

Hope you are all enjoying your summer slow and easy.

mid summer's flowers

red daylily with a small yellow and black beatle

blue balloon flowers

white "casa blaca" lilies

pink daylily rides a strong stem high above the dragon on the garden's edge below

We have a beautiful warm summer day with seemingly no humidity which is so unusual for Washington DC in the summer month of July. It's great blue skies with wandering white clouds and a yard full of colorful flowers.

I wanted to share some of them with my friends. I went out twice in the last week and took some photos of what was in bloom. Day lilies, Casa Blanca lilies, tall balloon flowers, many hosta flowers, summer phlox, black eyed and green eyed susans, roxanne crane's bill to name a few. The grass is drying up the clovers are still blooming and the plantains are starting to go to seed in the lawn. We water to keep the flowers going and I try to go out and sit in the garden each morning to write my pages. I have to wear long pants and long sleeves and a hat to keep the mosquitos off, and a little bit of deet spray. They are very anxious to find a bite of blood to make babies but we know they carry disease and besides that those bites cause so much misery. Still sitting and admiring our flowers and the bees and the birds, this is my little heaven right here in the city. If anything ails you, growing a yard full of flowers is a great spiritual remedy. Special thanks to Keith for making so much of this happen and adding his unique touch of magic to our evolving garden.

red men

Blacksmith has is waiting on something he put in the fire to the left.

Helping the blacksmith? I couldn't be sure but it seems like he was when I arrived. Then he with the great red beard moved to the side and watched with the rest of us.

Orange beard double thick earrings and tattoos.

Here I noticed that the young guy in red t-shirt also had red hair.

We watch the blacksmith making some sort of a fork.

I haven't posted very much this summer. I have been working on my books, I want to show you some as they develop into a collection this year. I wasn't expecting to be able to make books in July but the cool weather in the mornings has allowed me to work some days on the back porch studio. It is not weatherized and has glass windows facing west which heat up to very hot humid greenhouse like conditions. I have been on my own for a couple weeks while Keith is in the home mountains with his folk. We did go to the Smithsonian folklife festival this year before he left and I returned twice alone. We were both drawn to the Welsh exhibitors and music as I wrote earlier and I didn't take pictures until on the last day when I came across a fellow helping the blacksmith I couldn't pass up without a few snapshots. Wild red hair and wilder beard drew my camera out of the bag. I think I have seen this fellow on the mall before. He was less punk looking the last time and riding a very nice pink single geared bicycle. This time I didn't see the bicycle but I noticed he was wearing bicycle shoes that clip onto the pedals like I used to wear. Anyway, I got a few shots of him and brought them home to show you.

I also have a few close up shots of our garden flowers ready to show and a few new sketches. Some are on flickr. go there to see? There is the link and you can also go by visiting my blog page and looking for the slide show link to the right of this post.