The fires to the west of us continue to generate spectacular sunsets. The fires are coming under control and this is wonderful news; people get to return to their homes now.
![july20-sunset This sunset lasted for almost half an hour, and changed character as the sun set.](http://mtnmacaw.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/july20-sunset.jpg)
This sunset lasted for almost half an hour, and changed character as the sun set.
![july20-sunset2 Smoke blew out of here yesterday, and the sky here was crystal clear. It came back today when the winds turned around.](http://mtnmacaw.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/july20-sunset2.jpg)
Smoke blew out of here yesterday, and the sky here was crystal clear. It came back today when the winds turned around.
We have had lots of baby activity around the house. Yesterday there was a baby Snowshoe Hare sitting next to the bushes by the front of our house. We’ve never seen a baby rabbit that small, and it had “I am a rock. I am invisible” behaviour down pat. It was smaller than the palm of my hand; I couldn’t resist. I petted his head and he hopped off as quickly as he could, but he was so tiny he moved very slowly. I hope I didn’t stunt his growth! He was so incredibly soft.
This morning a doe and her fawn paid us a visit.
![mom'n'baby Standing at the edge of mountain shadow created by the rising sun, they had off into the sunshine looking for breakfast.](http://mtnmacaw.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/momnbaby.jpg)
Standing at the edge of mountain shadow created by the rising sun, they had off into the sunshine looking for breakfast.
Several does are raising their babies around our home. One poor momma has twins, and they run circles around her, literally. It is so fun to watch how exhuberant the fawns are and how much fun they have leaping and frolicking in the field of wildflowers outside our front door.
Yesterday some gluten-free flours we ordered arrived, along with several sets of English muffin rings. My plan today is to play with my new gluten-free baking cookbooks. Last night I made a peach crisp from a recipe in one of the books, and it was absolutely delicious. This bodes well for my cooking fun today!
I’ve been working on a new lace shawl project using a very fine gauge varigated alpaca/silk yarn, from a book called “Folk Shawls” by Cheryl Oberle. The pattern is a Norwegian Box Lace, an adaption from a woven lace shawl. I’m almost 25% complete at this point.
![25percent-boxlace Lace knitting is so cool because the beauty is hidden until it is blocked.](http://mtnmacaw.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/25percent-boxlace.jpg)
Lace knitting is so cool because the beauty is hidden until it is blocked.
Right now, this just looks like a tiny crinkled fabric. Just wait 🙂
I have a lot of cleaning to do today on the basement floor tile. The grout has set overnight and I can get the haze on the tiles removed entirely, and then tomorrow put the sealant on the grout lines, and then it will be a finished floor. The newest batch of grout needs to set at least 48 hours before sealant is applied.
My back and legs were so sore when I finished putting grout down a couple of days ago, I wasn’t sure how I would be feeling yesterday or today, but I’ve completely gotten over that soreness. Now if I can just get into a habit of some strenuous exercising, I could avoid feeling that way. It’s a thought. Realistically, I wonder what the odds are of that happening. Some exercise is good, but strenuous? Get real.
Speaking of exercise, Mishkin caught a mouse three nights in a row. This morning he was mouseless, poor kitty, and he’s been running around the house all morning looking for some mischief to be involved in.
Dan is going to put a new version of Linux on my computer this morning, and see if the current flavor of Linux is causing this odd screen dimming phenomenon I’m experiencing. I hope that is the case; I really don’t want to have to buy a new computer. The dimming stopped last week and we canceled the computer we’d ordered from Dell, not an easy task as the order was not completed in the first place and it confused Dell to no end when we insisted we’d ordered a computer and they didn’t find it in their system. Fun and games!