King of the... Patio Umbrella?

Squirrels climb up inside the patio umbrella. They climb up and down the outside. But this squirrel spent a good amount of time perched on top of the patio umbrella. It looks like a young squirrel to me. It's tail is thin and not so bushy and the whole critter is smaller. I always wonder what they're looking for when they climb around on the umbrella. I hope they find it.

The French irises are still blooming but I know they won't last too much longer. Irises are a fleeting pleasure. They're around for a week or so, maybe two, and then all that's left is their spiky leaves.

 

I saw that this one Stella d'Oro lily has thrown up a zillion buds. I can't wait until it starts blooming. It'll bloom for a long time since only one or two will open at once.

Tonight at Friday Night Knitting I took the bull by the horns and knitted the first two rounds of two-color knitting on the Monterey Sea Life beanie. It took all of my concentration and nearly two hours to complete the two rounds. It's going to take me a long time at this rate.

Once I had that done I pulled out a skein of dishcloth cotton and cast on this Beachy dishcloth. I can sit and knit on it and not have to think so much or concentrate so hard. I do love this colorway, especially the yellow. It's so bright and cheerful.

I had a few things to be grateful for today. It was bright and sunny all day but windy. I got a haircut this morning. And today is DIL1's 39th birthday. Happy Birthday! I'm glad that DS found her and married her and had my fabulous grandchildren with her.

Yesterday when I was at Meijer getting groceries I walked around the store to the toothpaste aisle and passed the shoe department where I saw that they had Sketchers Slip-Ins on sale. I found a pair of gray/taupe ones in my size, tried them on, and brought them home. I wore them today and they are easy to step into and they have a cushy insole. Three of my knitting friends swear by them so I had to try them.

I got the first samples of the cover for Open for Business, the sequel to The Seaview this morning. They were a good starting point. I had quite a few changes that need to be made, not least of which is not to tack The Seaview onto Open for Business. It didn't look right so I asked them to change it. They also put the same photo on the cover and back cover. That wasn't right either. Can't wait to see the next sample.

I spent some time starting over reading the manuscript now that it's on Kindle Create more in "book form" so it reads like a book instead of a manuscript. I'm also considering adding a few recipes at the back of the book at the suggestion of several of my Novel critique group friends. There's a lot of food and food prep in this sequel so maybe adding recipes is a good idea. Like I said, it's worth consideration.

Still didn't paint. That's two days in a row. *gasp* I'll be sure to whip out the paints and brushes tomorrow.

There are two more nights that I have to apply the prescription cream to the pre-cancerous spots on my face. Twelve nights of it have made me look like I have the measles or the chicken pox and now they're starting to itch. I tell myself that itchiness means they're healing. The cream is supposed to encourage the growth of clear skin. Man, I hope so because I look contagious right now.

--Barbara