August 25 work in progress and other stuff

OMG, I just realized when I wrote the date that I've lived in Wilton for 25 years today. Or pretty close to today, but August 25 is the date that sticks in mind. Wow.

Anyway, we'd been having this really abnormally cool summer, which was great. I should have talked about it more. It was really fantastic. Highs in the low 80s, nice breeze, I could do things like walk the dog AND ride the horse in the morning and not overheat in the slightest. Or comfortably work in the tool room in the barn in the mid afternoon without feeling like I might croak. Well, it changed. Now it's sort of over-compensating in the other direction.

Yup, 113.4 degrees and 10% humidity this afternoon. "At least it's a dry heat." I do mean that. But I'm inseparable from my lip balm lately, and walking outdoors makes you feel like your skin might just toast, desiccate, and blow away. I think it's going to be cool again next week. Weird.

I went to a concert up in Sutter Creek last Friday evening. I'm on the mailing list for the theatre there, and on a whim decided I'd really like an evening of culture and entertainment, rather than sitting at the microscope or watching the chickens or something. My friend Wendy went with me, and it was fantastic. The musicians were Alasdair Fraser and Natalie Haas playing Scottish fiddle and cello, respectively. I was in awe, and totally loved it. I'd really like to do that sort of thing more often. Seems I'm often gone on the dates of shows I'd like to see though!

We've reached the tail end of the peach and nectarine season, and the plums are gone. Eating the last nectarine is always a major tragedy in the house-hold, but it's been a lot of work! Total for the whole season (strawberry, apricot, blackberry, peach, nectarine) I made 123 jars of jam, froze several quarts of blackberries, froze probably 5 blackberry pie fillings, Mom made and froze 5 peach pie fillings, I baked a bunch of pies and cobblers, pureed and froze about 2 quarts of peaches (for smoothies!), and canned... get this... 26 quarts of assorted sliced peaches and nectarines. TWENTY SIX. Holy steam and sugar, batman! I did that all on my own! And mostly in one day. I still can't believe that last year I did all this with my thumb in a splint. And my neighbor shakes her head and says "I can't believe some man hasn't just swooped you up already." ;-) Yeah, me neither. ;-)

I'm super busy, things are really kind of a blur, there are so few work days left before I go, and still so much to do. I started a new piece that's actually NOT for the Western Visions show, it's for a scrim show in Rhode Island in late September. No, I won't be going there myself. Anyway, I need to make something very un-western for it so I won't be tempted to take it to WY instead, and this is an idea I've had for a while. I'll tell you the title later.

To do:
more scrim!
order frames
design and order new business cards
clothes shopping (blech, yuck!), need outfits for show
update portfolio
create and print explanation of scrimshaw process
create and print "care of scrimshaw" brochures for buyers