its fire season again

I took this photo after 9 last night in the last light from my back porch

that is not a cloud -- it is smoke from the Black Forest fire 

once again the severe drought, the heat and the winds have created a firestorm within my viewing (and breathing) reach

about 3:30 this morning I had to get up and close all of the windows as the heavy smell of smoke woke me

and in this morning's email I learned that one of my favorite fiber places in the whole area is probably gone in the conflagration

we're keeping the house closed up and running our fans trying to keep the smoke out

the news about the big black dog is that she ruptured the tendons in her knee during her little romp after the grackle on Sunday morning

she needs to have surgery to repair that leg -- which has been scheduled for Friday, June 21st

we need to get through the DH's surgery (tomorrow morning) to get his hand taken care of before I need to shift my nursing duties to the dog

taking refuge in some artwork 

two of the roses are finished, and I've started on the third one

Yeah!

a while back my local quilt guild issued a challenge and gave us a packet of fabrics to do something with all solid colors

this is not my usual thing

my usual pieces rely on batiks, prints that "read" as a variable color and hand painted or hand dyed fabric

I also don't piece much anymore -- mostly because I piece best if I do it all by hand

so it took me a while to come up with this idea

these six blocks are just the beginning of the design, so this will grow, but I'm really happy with how these look

today I need to run errands, get stuff ready so we are on time for the DH's 6:30 am check in tomorrow morning, pick up groceries, etc., etc., etc.

time to get to it