Fire and Rain

It certainly felt like a summer weekend here! The heat started building on Friday, leading up to an honest-to-goodness thunderstorm Saturday afternoon (incidentally, while Molly was out driving, giving her some "bad driving conditions" hours). We really needed the rain, after more than a week without any, and it was kind of fun to watch it come it from the comfort of the couch -- it conveniently came through between Ruthie's midday walk and her late-afternoon walk. It cleared up and even cooled off a bit in the evening, but we had some more rain overnight and there's plenty more in the forecast for the week ahead, along with humidity. I expect it will be a sweaty week!

Part of my weekend was spent finishing up and blocking my two most recent projects, presented for you here still wet:

That drawstring will need to be threaded through the waistband once dry, and I also might need to do a little duplicate stitching on the bum of the pants because I had some loosey-goosey stitches result from some of my short rows. The hat will be tried on once dry; I'm still not sure if it'll look fun or silly.

The week ahead is shaping up to be a little busier than last. Ruthie has her annual visit at the vet scheduled for Wednesday morning. She is due to get a vaccination, but they always make a fuss over her and give her cookies and peanut butter, so I don't think she'll mind much. On Thursday, I'm planning to attend a reception with the university's chancellor honoring employees for long service; officially I'm being recognized for 20 years of service, but because my employer moves so slowly on things like this, I'll actually be closer to 21 years than 20 by the time this happens. It'll be interesting to see what happens at this event. It's in the middle of the afternoon, so maybe we'll get some light refreshments. Frankly I'm more interested in the recognition gift I selected: After getting what was essentially an ashtray for five years (rather than the mug it used to be and that I was hoping for) and a set of bookends for 10, I picked out a pair of binoculars -- because I'm now a middle-aged lady and of course I've taken up casual birding. There's rain in the forecast almost every day starting Tuesday, and I'm hoping when it comes it works with my schedule to get my runs and walks in. Last week, for the first time ever, I managed three 10Ks in a single week, but I think that's a feat I'm unlikely to repeat now that summertime heat and humidity have descended on us. Still, I'm pretty proud of that accomplishment!

I'm working on some small projects now while I figure out what bigger thing to cast on next, but at the very least I should have some better photos of the above projects to share on Wednesday along with the usual reading update. I hope you're also seeing sun and needed rain in your neck of the woods -- don't forget to stay well hydrated and wear your sunblock! Have a good start to your week, all!