It took the itchy flea bites to finally get me to the sewing machine.  For me, a good summer means insect bites, in particular, flea ones. The other day, I came home with seven flea bites on my left leg, from ankle to hip. A few years ago I discovered if I apply heat to an itchy bite, the itch goes away almost instantly, which means I don't end up with scars because I didn't scratch as much, giving the swollen bite sites a chance to heal properly. So, this morning, after I opened the blinds and curtains, I headed to the sewing machine, which has been waiting to be used since the start of the year. The scissors I bought in May finally came out of its package. A box of fabric on the sewing table was already open. Snip, snip. A rectangular shape was cut out of a fabric scrap. The rectangle was folded in half for double strength.  On went the sewing machine. One side, two sides sewn. Rip went the rice package and rice poured into the pouch. The ends of the last open side w

Today starts a new round of the alphabet at ABC Wednesday . My theme for #23 is nothing ambitious as the last round , so I think. Signs and Such that I happen to see as I wander around San Benito County, California, my home, is this round's theme. I came across this sign for alterations on a window of a long-time laundry service on main street in Hollister, the county seat. Today, fewer people have basic sewing skills, or, for that matter, the time to do mending, unless a person is willing to do it while stuck in traffic. To learn more ABCW , click here . For this week's participants, click here for the list of participants. See you next week for the letter A. Thank you, ABCW Team!

Go ahead, Missus Lady. Work on the computer. Don't mind me. Purrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

"Did anyone ever tell you that you look like Jerry Garcia?" So asked two ladies of the Husband at an event that we attended last Saturday. When his hair and beard gets long and full, he gets that question often. I like it when someone is reminded of ZZ Top. Then the Husband's beard is much, much longer. A month ago, we were at a nursery with good friends Missus & Mister H. Someone asked Missus H where she found the plant she was holding. She said, "See that hairy guy? Look over there." The Husband told me later that he thought, "Hey!" when he overheard her. Myself. I like to call the Husband, with his current look, The Wild Man of Borneo. I like the above photo of the Husband.  You can't tell from it that he was striking a sarcastic pose. I cropped it because I liked the way the lighting played on him. Below is the full photo of him standing in front of a historic settler's cabin. I think he was pretending to be Kit Carson, Jim

Molly the Cat walked out of the office just now. My taking photos of her while sleeping annoyed her. The camera has a loud beep when it turns on. That's how she knew. The Girl got me up a few minutes after sunrise. I knew this because I'd stumbled back to bed after a visit to the bathroom. The morning already felt hot so there was no instant getting back to snoozeville. I almost got there when Molly gave out a roar downstairs. I chose to ignore it as well as her next roar. Silence. Crash! Then a tinkle of something broken. Sigh. The Husband of course was oblivious to Molly's noises. I found the something broken in the kitchen sink. It was the yellow porcelain crocus that sat in a cup on the kitchen window ledge. Two of its petals broke off. I stuck the crocus back into the cup and placed the petals on the saucer. Still looks good. Molly probably was tracking a squirrel running along the fence. Does she know what she would do if she ever caught one? I still

Need I say more.  Cheers to one and all! I'm linking up with the monthly photography meme Wandering Camera hosted by Soma Acharya of Whims and Fancies . Click here to learn more about the meme and to check out other participants.

"Peek-a-boo," says Molly the Cat.  Click .  This morning. It was. :-) I'm linking up with the monthly photography meme Wandering Camera hosted by Soma Acharya of Whims and Fancies . Click here to learn more about the meme and to check out other participants.