Morels

 When we first moved here, we could find Morels on occasion in a particular spot in our forest-toward the Northwest corner, but in 1995 we had a freak storm that took down a large portion of our trees. This destroyed the Morel's environment and they just never grew back.

Something really exciting happened last week. My daughter went for a walk and found a large-ish patch of Morels, which are a wild mushroom, in a spot we've never had them before. She picked 2 and brought them to the house to show me. Then she and my husband walked back to the patch and they picked a meal's worth. They were pretty big. I carefully washed them.

They were beautiful and perfect. Not a worm or bug on them. This was the largest one. It's almost 4.5 inches long.

I'd never cooked or eaten Morels. I googled for a basic recipe on how to cook them. I sliced them vertically and sautéed them in just a bit of Olive oil. Just before they were done I added butter and fresh garlic to finish them off. Oh my gosh, they were so good! The absolute best tasting mushrooms I've ever eaten. They were a real treat.

I had a very nice Mothers Day. Usually, we take a drive in the mountains to look at wildflowers, but I was not up to doing that this year. I came down with a couple days before and still wasn't quite feeling ship shape yet. So we went and saw the movie The Sheep Detectives.

It was a wonderful movie and I enjoyed it very much. After the movie, we went to Red Robin for Banzia Burgers. Yum!

My daughter Sarah and her partner Opal sent me flowers for Mothers Day. They're so beautiful.

I redid the wheels on the train cross stitch and I'm happier with them.

I have just a bit of black backstitching left and it'll be done. I will be glad to get it done.

Until next time

Live long and prosper. \\//

Train Engine

 I have a couple WIP updates. First, I've finally cast on the blue mohair cardigan for my daughter.

I have 6 strands of yarn being knit together on size 15 needles. I've cast on 3 times before I finally started knitting it correctly. I messed up my increase after the ribbed welt first. I decided to knit it all in one piece to start rather than 3 separate pieces sewn together. That's why I messed up my decreases. I forgot I was doing the front pieces with the back and didn't increase enough.

Then I discovered I'd forgotten to add the gold metallic thread after the second cast on So I frogged it and cast on with the gold. Now it's right. 

While doing this, I decided I'm going to make myself another one, in purple. I've ordered the yarn for it. 

That's the knitting WIP. I've also made good progress on the cross stitch train. I've done all the back stitching and embellishment on the 2 cars and caboose. They are done. Now I'm working on the engine. I'm putting the large wheels on. They're done with a 1/8th inch metallic silver ribbon. I am not happy how it was looking. The silver ribbon is really flimsy and looks terrible. I can see the stitches behind right through it. Since taking the above picture, I ordered something else to use than the ribbon I had, and I've removed the wheels I'd already done. I'm going to be much happier.

We've had some beautiful weather the last few days. Perfect spring weather in the 70's, blue sky, fluffy clouds, and the flowering trees are blooming. The flowering plum is spectacular!

I've been making time to sit out on the deck and enjoy the weather, but it's getting difficult. The city of Rathdrum owns a dump across the street from us and they started burning trash on Monday. Urg. Ash is falling out of the air like snow. Way to ruin things for us.

I am having problems with my Roomba. It won't stay connected to the internet. If it doesn't stay connected, I can't tell it what saved job to do. I've tried all sorts of things trying to get it to work right to no success. It's been very frustrating. Not sure what to do. Maybe I can set it back to the factory settings, which will delete my programs, but I can redo them. In the meantime, I guess I'll get my regular vacuum cleaner out tomorrow. The floors are getting very dirty.

Well, that's it for now. Until next time...

Live long and prosper. \\//

Catching Up 4/12/2026

 I thought I'd post a bit about what's going on in my life right now. First of all, my husband bought me a new laptop! We did the taxes last week and we're getting a nice refund. YAY! Thus, the new computer. My old Lenovo is getting obsolete because it runs Windows 10 and that's it. It can't support 11, so it's days are numbered. 

He decided to get a Dell 16 DC1625125. He bought it from Amazon and I think I like it. I'm using it right now. One of the things I like about it is the right shift key is in the right spot on the keyboard. The old Lenovo did not have it in the right spot. It has Windows 11 on it so there's gonna be a learning curve. 11 doesn't look or work like 10 at all.

The laptop arrived Friday. I looked at how to get the old stuff from my Lenovo into the Dell hoping there was an easier way to do it than the last time I moved into a new computer. There is software that will do it for you. I looked at the various choices and decided to purchase PC Mover. I was going to do it Saturday, but I felt absolutely horrible that day, so I didn't get to it until this morning. Let me tell you, it was worth the price! I had to install the program on both computers, then I clicked on the start button and it WORKED! It was super easy and now everything from the Lenovo is on my Dell. All the apps, programs, files, pictures, and everything else. There were two small problems I had to solve. The first one was it said I needed to install a utility program in order for one of my programs to work. I clicked on install, and it tried, but it said something else was using it right then, so it couldn't install it, which makes no sense to me. It said it would try again later.

The second issue I had was with the pre-installed Microsoft web browser, called Edge. Of course, it set itself up right away and I used it to get everything downloaded and going for the transfer. After installation of everything, it wouldn't let me visit Facebook with my web browser of choice, Chrome. It kept saying it didn't exist. I had to change some settings, including setting Chrome to be my default browser, and then going to the Facebook website and signing out on the old computer, then signing in on the new computer. It seems to be working now. We'll see how it goes.

I have been doing a lot of cross stitching on the train. I have all the cross stitches done on the train itself and I'm working on the tracks now.

The local spring wildflowers are starting to bloom. The Squill down the hill is in full bloom. It's so pretty!

I love the shade of blue.

A few weeks ago my husband and Ruth went for a walk and took Zoey with them. Husband made a bunch of walking trails on the property during the winter since there wasn't any snow in the woods and we needed someplace to walk that was safe. Anyway, when they got back Zoey was limping her left back leg. No one saw how she injured herself, unfortunately, because I would like to know. I took her to our veterinarian and the doctor said Zoey's sprained her equivalent of the groin muscle. She said keep her indoors for a couple weeks and gave us some painkillers for her. She was doing fairly good at the end of the two weeks, but now she's limping and in quite a bit of pain again. She's been tearing around the yard, and walking with husband. I don't know if I should take her to the vet again or not. We're out of painkiller now. I'm a bit frustrated.

Well, that's about it for now. Until next time...

Live long and prosper. \\//

Project Progress

 Still plugging along. I did more stitching than knitting this week. I got the caboose almost done.

I thought I'd have a chance getting it done before Christmas, but there's the little matter of doing the back stitching, ordering a frame, framing it, etc. I don't have time. So this will be a birthday present instead.

It took 4 days, but I finally got past a certain dark green stripe (the top one). I don't know what was going on but I could not get past it without making multiple mistakes. I think it was just all the stress going on in my life. 

Our home insurance was cancelled. The insurance company dropped everyone in our area because they say the fire danger has become too high (Thank you climate change!). It should not be legal to do that. We've been good customers for a long time with not one claim made.

Then we got an overdue notice on a bill. A large bill. I could have sworn I paid it. Husband insisted on getting a Home Depot credit card when we bought the supplies for the new back porch. I hate credit cards. Anyway, he was pretty upset I hadn't paid it, and I was even more upset with myself. I did start working on it by going on the Home Depot website to set up an account and pay it, but I didn't get it done. I think I got interrupted by something and didn't get back to it. Whatever, anyway. I spent an evening trying to get that set up so I could pay the bill. I ended up calling them and paying it that way. Their web site sucks.

I wasn't feeling good last weekend and coughing a lot so I went to the Immediate Care Clinic. I found out I have pneumonia again. It's a mild case, thankfully. I've got some meds that should get rid of it.

And then there was the accident. We're almost done with that one. The Prius has been repaired and we got it back last Friday.

I've also been working on getting ready for the road trip. We're going to Pawtucket, Rhode Island to see our daughter and her wife and spend Thanksgiving with them. It's been a few years since we've seen them. We're taking three weeks and doing a road trip with the Prius. I'm hoping the weather is kind to us. I do not like traveling at this time of year, unless it's on a plane to a cruise ship in the sunny south. I've been overruled. My niece is taking care of our house and cat while we're away. We're taking Zoey with us.

I'm leaving the cross stitch train home and taking two knitting projects. One being the afghan, and the other being the supplies to make a pair of mittens for a Christmas present. Years ago I made a hat for my
daughter with bicycles on it. She's an avid bicyclist. Recently I found a pattern for mittens with bicycles on them, so I'm gonna make them for her. I am using the same brand of yarn, but I don't have the exact same colors because both have been discontinued. I'm using some that are close. I wonder if daughter still has the hat? I guess I'll find out.

Weather has been wet and in the 40's and low 50's. Occasional sunshine has appeared to dry things out just in time to for the rain to get it wet again. We've had a couple days this past week of real hard downpours making our metal roof rumble.

I don't know if I'll post while I'm away. Haven't decided if I want to take the laptop or not. I will see how much room there is left in the car after we get all the suitcases and whatnot in. In the meantime,

Live long and prosper. \\//

What The .........!

 Life has been interesting since my last post. I was in a car accident on the 28th of October. My daughters and I were on our way to Coeur d'Alene to pick up our new glasses. I was stopped at a red light with a a dozen other drivers, waiting for the green light. It turned green and suddenly there was a horrible "bang!" and the car shook. The gal behind me hit the gas as soon as the light turned green. She didn't wait for all of us in front of her to get going first. Plowed right into my back end and pushed in a sizeable amount of the hatchback door as well as damaged the bumper. 

She was driving a new pickup truck that was absolutely HUGE! There was no damage on it. I don't think the dust was even disturbed on her bumper. 

I was so rattled it ruined the whole day. I immediately called the police, then moved my vehicle off the road so I wasn't blocking traffic. The police officer was very kind and helpful. Fortunately, the damage didn't prevent the car from being driven, so I went ahead and continued on to get the new glasses after the officer was done making his report.

Since then, I've contacted my insurance, and the car is at the repair shop being worked on. I should be getting it back in like new condition by Friday of this week.

I've been working like crazy on the train cross stitch. I've finished the cross stitches on the train engine car.

It took quite a bit of time to do. It's more complicated than it looks. I've started the last car, which is the caboose. It's going to be much easier to do. To be honest, though, I don't think I will get it done in time for Christmas.

I'm still knitting the green ripple afghan. I'm about a third of the way along.

I took a little stroll out in the back yard today and found some fungus I was not familiar with. This is called Black Elfin Saddle mushroom. It is edible, though I've not tried it.

It's got an interesting look to it.

The weather has been wet and chilly. There is snow on the mountains. Today was sunny, so I took advantage of the opportunity to sweep all the pine needles off the deck and stack the furniture for winter. 

We are going on a road trip in a couple weeks. We've been missing our oldest daughter, who lives in Rhode Island. We haven't seen her since the pandemic so we're going to drive out and spend thanksgiving with her and her partner. The plan is to take the Prius, so I hope it's ready for it. 

I am very nervous about the trip. Husband wants to take our time driving across the country and stop to see things. I don't know how many things will actually be open, seeing as it's almost winter now. I don't know how wise it is to go on a road trip this time of year, but it's what Doug wants to do. I'm hoping for nice weather. 

That's the news for now.

Live long and prosper. \\//

WIP Progress

 I really haven't made good progress on my projects lately. I'm not sure why, because I have been working on them. Here's where I am with the train cross stitch. Not much more to do on the engine. Just wheels and small detail stitches. I have one last car to do after this one.

I'm here on the green ripple afghan. It's been frustrating because I feel like I've done more unknitting than knitting on it. I keep dropping the yarn overs, or forgetting to do yarn overs. Then I find myself ripping back to fix it. Ugh.

I've been having problems with my hands lately. I've been doing activities that are making them sore. For instance, I participated in the No Kings protest and held a sign up over my head for 3 hours. It went really well. We had over 1000 people show up and the public support was overwhelmingly positive. 

My hands and arms were so sore the next day. I didn't knit or stitch for two days to give them time to recover. I am amazed, though, that my feet and knees were fine the next day because I stood for 3 hours on all that arthritis! I was definitely hurting. I took a 15 minute sitting break halfway through. That little break helped a lot.

A little over a week ago I managed to break my glasses. I hadn't been to the optometrist since Covid, so I was way overdo anyway. I was starting to see things a bit blurry too. I needed a new prescription but have been dragging my feet to get it done. I got my eyes checked last Saturday. They are perfectly healthy (yay!) and the new glasses should be ready in another week. I took my daughter with me because she hadn't had her eyes checked since 2017! Hers are healthy too, and her new glasses will be ready at the same time as mine.

The weather around here has taken a nosedive down into the cold dept. It's been in the 40's and 50's consistently for a couple of weeks or more. The leaves are falling off the trees, and autumn is definitely ending soon.

A couple nights ago we had a storm. No lightening or thunder, but plenty of wind and rain. Around 11:30pm the power went out. Found out later a large tree had fallen in a road and dragged the lines down. It wasn't fixed until after 7am the next morning. Doug and I did not get much sleep that night because we discovered we can't sleep in bed without our CPAP machines. I sat in my recliner all night, reading. Around 5 I must have fallen asleep in said chair because when the power came on it woke me up. We have ordered a portable power system for our CPAPs

Earlier that day, just before dark, we got a rainbow. I took a picture.

It wasn't as bright as they usually are, but the sun was just barely above the mountains and it was getting dark out with cloud cover.

Dougs heart is still in proper sinus rhythm. Hurray!

That's the news from the Parkarosa.

Live long and prosper. \\//

Life At The Moment

The well is up and running again. The contractor showed up Monday late afternoon and finished fixing it. When I paid him, I also gave him a big hug and told him he's my hero. He worked on our project on his own time, not company time. You don't find someone that nice very often. It's so good to be able to flush the toilet again. I made it through the whole ordeal. The Porta Potty was picked up today. I'm so glad we were able to rent it. 

It occurred to me that I mentioned in June that my husband was scheduled for heart surgery and then I didn't say anything else. Well, that surgery was cancelled because in preparation for said surgery they did a cat scan and a chest x-ray and thought there was a blood clot in his heart. Surgery was immediately cancelled.

He since then has had some more tests and they found it wasn't a blood clot. Just an anomaly of sorts, so the surgery is rescheduled for July 11th. I'm keeping my fingers crossed it will happen.

I have been stitching like crazy on the train. I got all the cross stitches done on the coal car. I've started the front engine now.

In knitting, I've mostly been waiting for yarn I ordered for the socks. 

I ran out of the green yarn just as it was time to start the heel of the second sock and could not find another. I was sure I had two skeins of it, but I was wrong. I couldn't find the ball band either, so I guessed on which green it is (Knit Picks Stroll). I guessed wrong. I searched some more and finally found the ball band and ordered the correct green. It arrived yesterday. The dyelot is different, of course, but not off enough to cause a problem, thankfully.

In the meantime, I've been working on the Snowflake afghan a little bit.

I am enjoying it very much. The stranded squares are just big enough to enjoy but not feel impatient to "get to the end, dammit!"

My African Violet is blooming! A few months ago I divided it and repotted both. I had two plants in the pot and they got way too big for it. Both are blooming. Just a pic of one though.

Weather-wise, the remainder of last week was very comfortable. I enjoyed it very much. It's super hot today. 97F degrees at the moment. I'm staying indoors so as not to set off the asthma. Things are supposed to cool down later this week.

That's the news for now.

Live long and prosper. \\//

WIPs Update

 I'm currently working on the following 3 projects regularly.

The socks. Unfortunately, I have run out of the green yarn just as I'm ready to start the heel on the second sock. I thought I had a second skein, but I don't. I ordered some more, which arrived last week, but I ordered the wrong green! I've ordered the right one this time, and it's just a matter of it getting here.

I started another afghan. I'm hoping I can get it done in time for Christmas. It's knit in panels with fairisle squares and textured squares in 3 different colors. So far, so good.

I have also finished the cross stitching on the passenger car of the Train. Just the back stitching is needed for this one. I started the coal car last night.

I haven't had much time to do more than this. It is helping to keep me sane. Especially the cross stitch. I have to completely concentrate on it so I don't think about other stuff. I've been able to spend time out on my deck too, which makes it all that much better. I love my deck.

Saw my lung doctor last week. I told him about my cough going away after seeing an ear, nose, and throat doctor and why, but about 2 weeks ago it came back. He was surprised that the problem was a mild form of pneumonia and inflamed vocal chords. He ordered an x-ray. No pneumonia but something is definitely going on in there. More tests may be coming. In the meantime, I've been given a prescription for a medication to help with inflammation in the lungs and my vocal chords, which are still very swollen and angry looking. It's already helping.

Live long and prosper. \\//

WIP Wednesday 6/4/2025

 I'm making good progress on my projects. Today I'm featuring two of them. First is the felt applique stocking I'm making for Zoey.

I'm not happy that that lollipop is crooked. I'm going to be redoing that! I did steam the stocking, though, and got the creases out. I'm still having problems with the brown ink bleeding. It's getting all over my hands too. I hope I can fix that after it's done.

The second thing I'm going to show you is the cross stitch train picture I started in February. I started it, then put it aside to get some birthday projects done. Last weekend I had the thought that I really should get back to working on it because Christmas is not that far away.

The first thing I discovered was that I'd used the wrong color on  the part I'd started. This is one of the train cars. It looks a little easier than the other cars.

Our weather has been really nice the last few days. Before that we got rain. I've spent a few days outside working on the yard and enjoying my deck. I've taken to sitting out there in the morning reading my Kindle and drinking coffee. I'm hoping wildfire season will be delayed, maybe even cancelled this year. Probably a pipe dream, huh? Anyway, I got the deck flower boxes planted with Marigolds. I got them from a local nursery rather than Home Depot or some other box store garden department. This is how they looked after I was finished planting. I think they're going to be beautiful.

Yesterday I installed the drip system. I thought it would take about an hour at the most. Three hours later I was having to quit because I ran out of parts. I need some more of the mini drippers. A few broke during the winter. I've ordered some. I did get it working enough to turn it on. Just need to hand water a couple things until I get them, which should be tomorrow.

Next week my husband is going in for heart surgery. He's got a ton of tests to do beforehand. I am getting anxious. I sure hope this works or I don't know what we'll do. He can't just go on living this way where he has no energy whatsoever to get things done. He can't even ride his bike. I'll be keeping the fingers crossed-figuratively speaking.

One more thing. I made Creme Brulee' last weekend. It's my favorite dessert.

The week before that I made a Coconut cake to take to a meeting. It required 6 egg whites. I didn't want to just throw away the yolks, so I did a search for recipes using 6 yolks and found a Crème Brulee' recipe. It was so easy, and so good. I used to make it before we had kids (using a slightly different recipe, of course). I don't know why I stopped. If you've never had it, give it a try. It's heavenly. It's a creamy silky custard with a sugar crust on top. To die for, I swear!

Live long and prosper. \\//

Catching Up

I'm going to catch up on the needle crafting first. Current WIPs.

I am making good progress on my Feather and Fan afghan. It's been a joy to work on.

It's been a very nice break from the really complicated stuff I've been knitting. I really like the yarn too. It's very good quality. It is Mary Maxim's Maximum Value.

I ordered a Bucilla Felt Stocking kit to make for my daughter-in-law. It occurred to me that her stocking has Frank on it, instead of her new name. So I've set Zoey's stocking aside for the time being. The new stocking is a picture of Santa riding a train. It's pretty cute. Here's where I am with it. 

This is the first kit where the name comes first. I find that interesting. There's a lot of tiny pieces in this kit too. It's going to take some time.

Next is the counted cross stitch project I'm making for Christmas.

The picture is 24 by 9 inches in size in 14 count, which is rather large. The train, though, doesn't have a whole lot of detail so it should go quicker than my usual projects. The fabric is a pale gray. I gridded the fabric, as you can see, using leftover thread from the finished stocking of last month. It took me 3 days. Worth it though. It makes counting the stitches so much easier.

I have good news. Hubs and I decided to apply to start collecting our Social Security and we both have been approved. I got my first payment 2 weeks ago. Yay! Yarn money! We're talking about buying me a new Prius and using my SS to pay for it. 

There have been a lot of changes in the Prius the last 3 or 4 years. It's now a fancy sports car and they go for $40 Grand. I don't know if I want to spend that much on a car. 

In the meantime, my car needs some minor repairs. A couple sensors have gone out. Doesn't prevent me from driving it, but if I want to keep it that way, I need to get them fixed. By the way, if we do get a new one, it won't be red. I want blue. So far, our local Toyota dealer has only had silver, grey, and dark grey ones. Last week they had 12 in stock, all in those colors. Ugh. They sold quick.

Looking around town, I have to say the economy is doing better than the media and government have been saying. There's lots and lots of new cars on the road. I can't believe how many Tesla's are around now.

Remember when I was sick around Thanksgiving and ended up with a cold and a cough? I had just found the solution to the chronic cough I'd been living with for 8 years. I had all of what? 3 weeks of peace? I kept hoping the cough would go away, but it only got worse. Last Monday I saw a doctor. I have a bad case of bronchitis so he's given me antibiotic, cough medicine, and prednisone to help with my breathing. The cough is going away. I'm looking forward to it being gone.

I got myself a new plant, which is living on the bathroom windowsill. It's an Echeveria "Perle von Nurnberg" which is a succulent that will get purple as it gets bigger. Right now it's just a baby.

The weather is cold and snowy. Winter started snowing on us about 5 days ago and we've got almost a foot out in the yard. It's been snowing all day long. The days of the coming week are going to drop in temperature. Highs in the low to mid 20F's and lows to -7F. Now we'll find out if the new furnace is worth it.

That's it for now, except I took a selfie. Yes, that's me.

Live long and prosper. \\//

WIPs August 2, 2024

 I have been working on just two wips this past week. Mostly cross stitching the flamingos.

I like to stitch one color at a time. I start with lighter colors and work my way toward the darker colors. I've done this one a little different, but still working with the lighter colors. 

I've finished two pinks, and now I'm working on coral pink. I've been working on it while watching the Olympics. 

I know I've said it before, but I'm going to say it again, I love graphing the fabric before stitching. It has made it so much easier for counting stitches and figuring out where they go.

I've started the first of my Christmas knitting projects. I'm making a pair of socks with ducks on them.

They're from the top down, so the ruffle is at the top of the cuff. I love how the ruffles look like duck feet. I'm going to be doing the ducks in fairisle, but I'll be duplicate stitching the beaks. That way I'm not doing 3 colors in a row.

The pattern changes the size of the needles up 1 size for the stranded part, then back down to the smaller size for the stockinette. I think that is a good idea.

Last week was so nice. It didn't get very hot. We even had a day of rain which knocked all the smoke out of the air. The heat returned today. It's about 97F now. Tomorrow will be three digit heat. I'm so glad we have air conditioning.

I had a bit of an experience yesterday. After the Yarnies meeting, I was pulling out of the coffee shop's parking lot onto the street and ended up being pulled over by a cop. I've been driving for almost 50 years and never have been pulled over before. I was at a complete loss what I did wrong because I had hardly driven at all. I certainly didn't cut anyone off, speed, or anything else. I just pulled out into the closest lane and started to tootle toward the freeway on-ramp. Well, apparently, I didn't turn on my blinker light before turning out onto the street. I don't know how he could have known because from where he saw me, he couldn't have seen my blinker. To be honest, I don't know if I turned it on or not. I usually do because it's a habit. I even turn them on coming in and out of a parking spot. He didn't give me a ticket, fortunately. It kind of scared me though.

We have 3 turkey hens hanging around the house. At least one has babies. They're so cute! Too shy for pics though. There's also a doe with brand new twin fawns. They are fun to watch.

That's all for now.

Live long and prosper. \\//

Zoey's Andoa

 Today I'm posting about the new sweater I made my dog, Zoey. She absolutely loves wearing sweaters. I've already got the yarn and patterns lined up for her next two. 

Pattern: Basic Coat from A Dogs Life by Patons and Andoa by Norah Gaughan
Made For: Zoey

Size: Large

Yarn: Lion Brand Heartland, Worsted Weight
Content: 100% Acrylic
Color: Hot Springs

Needles: Circular size 5 and 7

Started: May 21, 2024
Finished: July 2, 2024

Comment: I have customized the above dog sweater pattern to fit my Zoey. 

I used the stitch patterns from the Andoa pattern so she and I could have matching sweaters.

I've made the ribbed neck extra long so it can be folded over. She has a pretty long neck anyway.

She loves this one. I had a hard time getting it off of her after taking the photos. It was almost 90F degrees and she wanted to wear it. Silly girl!

This is the cross stitch project I'm working on right now.

It's coming along pretty good. I did have a problem with running out of one of the threads. It's a Thea Gouverneur kit named Flamingos. So I found their web site and sent them an email asking if they could tell me the DMC color so I could purchase more. They use DMC threads in their kits. They kindly sent me the number and I got a skein from Joann's. I could have probably asked for more thread, but the kit is a fairly old one and the company is in Europe. I wasn't willing to wait for the thread. Anyway, they were very nice about it. By the way, the fabric looks dirty in the pic. It's not. It's just the way the shadows hit the fabric.

Still warm summer weather. It's actually come down a bit to the upper 80's this week. However, the air is very smoky. It's coming from large wildfires up in Canada. We have nothing close to us right now. Hoping it stays that way for the rest of the year.

Live long and prosper. \\//