Denim Car Blanket

It strikes me at this very moment that i should be making jewelry. I really find it too hot to put on a respirator mask and sit over a torch. We're still up around 100F every day. But, i've got loads of old beads sitting around here that could be put together to make bracelets or pendants or charms. But i have been working on a quilt, so i'm not feeling too guilty about the lack of new beads to show here.

I began recycling the kids' jeans when they were pretty small. I cut 6-inch squares of denim out of them. As the kids have grown, their jeans get bigger and i can get more than just a few squares out of them. Unfortunately, two of my boys wear those super skinny jeans, and they don't provide much expanse of material.

I simply sew the squares together as a grid to form the top of the quilt. For the bottom and binding i use a comfy flannel. And instead of quilting, i just make yarn tufts to fasten the top and bottom panels together. The result is a heavy, sturdy, blanket, with a certain amount of sentiment inherent. But mostly i just like the look and feel and utilitarian nature of this style of blanket.

BP Oil Leak

The ongoing "oil spill" in the Gulf of Mexico darkens our days. In the beginning, while we were still trying to grasp the enormity of such a thing, i would have put money on BP standing by their promises to stop the leak and clean up the mess...up to the point that it became too expensive and public outrage reached a crescendo. And then the BP company would just die of embarrassment and shame. But really it would just go underground until it restructured itself and came back as a big oil player with a different name. So i'm surprised they are still here. Not only that, but spending big bucks on a new advertising campaign aimed at improving their image. Again.

I offer links to a couple of commentaries on BP and this oil leak: The Onion. And Mark Morford.

2 Cute Kids

We were at Bottomless Lakes State Park, NM yesterday when we spotted these awfully cute little kids heading towards the beach.

Another hot one. Not a pleasant time to have the vehicle's battery die. Fortunately, hubby was with me and the kids in Roswell, NM. Had it been just me i would probably have had the van towed to the dealership for fixing and had a big bill to pay. Instead, hubby got us a boost, which got us to the local AutoZone, where they diagnose charging problems as a courtesy, and all he paid for was the new battery.

We drove the 3 miles or so to the Auto Zone, the outside temp 100 degrees, without rolling down the power windows or using the A/C because we couldn't take the chance that it would drain the battery. As soon as we got to the car parts store, we threw the doors open and piled out onto the glaring asphalt of the parking lot, reveling in the fresh cool air. 100 degrees never felt so crisp! lol

Hot Pink Rose

100 degrees in the shade. This is my pink rose. Very hot and dry and has definitely seen fresher days.

But a search on etsy.com reveals that everyone's "hot pink rose" is not so sad. There are some lovely offerings here.

Lily

Mom's a Good Sport, Gets Pwn'd Anyway

This "good sport" went on a birthday outing to the paint ball course with her teen boys and husband. (That's me on the right in the white T.) Self proclaimed pacifist/ gun hater that i am, this was way outside my comfort zone, but i figured you needed enough bodies (aka targets) out there to have teams, and thus have "fun". Anyway, i confirmed that it really does hurt as much as you think it will, and some people (me) aren't much funner targets than trees so they may as well have stayed home...

Apparently it's more fun to shoot at and hit people that are running serpentine while firing at you, than it is to shoot at someone who is cowering behind a stack of tractor tires. But, i honestly thought it was a clever strategy since my team mates who were dashing from one cover to the next were getting picked off. Mind you, they were getting picked off with drama and bravado and dynamic bursts of orange paint. Eventually the other team popped over my shelter and the jig was up.

I would never make a good soldier. I had to pause in the middle of the field of battle to take this ironic nature shot of a cone flower.

Vases To Put Your Poppies In

Some choice (my choice) offerings of nice vases on etsy. Some of these would look great with a few stems of poppies. :-)