Soothing rain for our parched yard

We have had multiple days in a row with temps well over 100. These are the oven-hot days of a typical summer here. But this late afternoon, we were blessed with rain!



And it happened just before sunset, which meant a big, beautiful sky after the storm passed.

"Coquita Común" aka "Inca Dove"

We had a new visitor on Sunday ~ He's a small dove and so pretty.

Check out more facts about the Inca Dove, including the sound of their "call."

Happy week, all!

Beginning a Blessing Book

Finally getting these photos posted ~ this is the latest bookmaking project that I've been working on this past week. Aren't the cloth and enpaper(s) beautiful together?




materials

front page

layout

Garden Update

Sparsebeard and our 13 yo son ran the weedeater and weeded the garden well all around the edges on Sunday evening. It looks so much better out there, now!

The tomatoes are "regrouping" and setting new blossoms, while one or two small tomatoes are ready almost daily.

The onions do not like the 100 degree plus temps. Who can blame them. We planted them late, and decided to see how long they would make it. We've thoroughly enjoyed having them with our meals or in recipes. It's just so easy to send one of the boys out to get some when needed, and not have to worry about lack of indoor storage space. Now I need to pull many of them and hang them to dry.

The cantaloupe are plentiful this year, the largest we've ever grown! We just have to be careful not to pick them too soon.

The peppers are doing extremely well, especially the Habañeros. Something (grasshoppers?) is eating the tips of the jalapeños.

We are out of Garrett Juice. We have been able to keep an organic garden but we need to purchase more to mix this fantastic stuff to keep the veg strong. We have our own healthy compost pile, but this combination product has other ingredients already premixed in.

The sweet potatoes are vining everywhere! I've never grown sweet potatoes, before, so just buried some chunks just for fun. I grew up digging and eating white potatoes. This will be a nice addition to our table at mealtimes.

The crookneck squash is still producing, but has slowed down quite a bit.

A stray sunflower popped up amongst the melons and we let it grow.

It's really too hot for many herbs, now. We've been hitting over 100 for several days, now...but the mint is thriving, and the lemon balm is growing. The cilantro is skinny and unhappy, as is our parsley. The basil is doing great! The oregano is low to the ground and not growing much at all, but at least it is not dying!

Leaf cutters and something else are getting to Sparsebeard's grapevine that he has been babying. I'll have to take new pictures of our two different varieties of vine. They grow and spread so quickly that any pictures I have of them do not show how large they are today.

I'll close by recommending a friend's new blog. Sheila writes prolifically; beautiful spiritual applications are included, too. In this post, she shares about her garden in suburbia and overcoming her fear of bees.

Enjoy, all!!


Javamom

An Island Story

Dead Squirrel?

He seems to be so, yes? Especially with the fly sniffing at him, and the little wound on his side.

Come to find out, he was just playing possum. Or he was just lolling about on a lazy, hazy, hot Sunday afternoon. Who knows. What I do know is that he fled oh-so-quickly when hubby began making a lot of noise at him!

An Island Story Restoration/Conservation

(For the Bible Restoration: scroll down to the July 11th and 12th posts)














cover lining tinted to match cover




Just three major steps to go...and a light clean-up/touch up after a night in the bookpress

Simple Joys

As long as I have life and breath, I strive to be thankful and appreciate even the seemingly small blessings. Here is one simple joy ~




Yes, Gazebo Blend is officially (and finally) back for the summer. The only coffee better than this is Peaberry...which has not been out for a loooonnnnggggg time. :::sigh:::

Thank you, dear daughter, for bringing it to us this week!

Alongside Gazebo Blend is John Ruskin, for some enjoyable and descriptive reading (and yes, I did "dust" the books before taking this shot of "Ethics in The Dust" haha). Also note a photo of architecture and design in a Mayan village in the Yucatán (another Ruskin reference. He wrote several lectures/books on architecture).

As dh and I strive to get things lined up for fall classes (Jacobs Geometry or The Teaching Company Geometry? Employ a tutor or attend her weekly class?), a good cup of coffee or tea is a pleasant habit to make the planning more enjoyable.

Javamom

Wordless Wednesday

Today's harvest

Thankful for His provision. This is our first cantaloupe of the season! I can't wait, but we'll enjoy tonight with dinner.

This looks a little messy, but we have mint growing out along the rocks. You can tell that just beyond that, the boys need to run the weedeater. we'll get to that after our trip to the library.


The smaller plants are herbs, which replaced our spring lettuce.

Final touches and buff shine

A friend (waving at Ann ;-) asked for a few more pictures showing more details, and names of tools used. tiny paintbrush, inside protected by waste paper and blotter/remay combination.

color repair with custom-mixed color match

scalpel - removing last traces of adhesive - see previous post - (very, very carefully!)

color repair



stabilizing bumped corners - (tissue and special paste - using a mini-spatula)



clamping after stabilized. Notice that right corner still needs treatment and color match



measuring (with "dividers")

tissue inlay strip (burnish it down with a teflon folder - a bone folder is too "grabby" for this tender job)


wax and shine (with archival wax used by the British Museum)

all clean and ready to go home to its owner!

-=*=- -=*=- -=*=- -=*=- -=*=-

Now, for my next two jobs for moms in my CM book club: I'll work on them side-by side. While one dries or is in the press, I can work on the other and rotate back and forth. I'll post photos to show you how it goes!


Ciao for now!

Javamom

Bible Restoration project

This job has been half-finished for far too long. The school year became very busy with teaching all my Spanish and other classes, so I needed to set it aside. Such is life with a part-time business and two passions. But NOW this particular project is almost finished (photo above). I just need to "clean it up" a bit and add some polish. I am pleased with how far this Bible restoration has come!

Before:





Beginning repairs







Here I am, all focused and hard at work, and almost finished. Ready for the book press.