Hot Enough to ...

  We're still in the middle of a heat wave here in east Tennessee, which seems to be never-ending.  At the hotel, guests are complaining every day that their air conditioners aren't working, but when the maintenance guys check out the units, they're working as hard as they can.  It's just hot, folks, and we can't do anything about it!
  I did yard work this morning, trying to catch back up to the grass in the back yard.  I actually had to buy a new string trimmer, because my poor little rechargeable unit couldn't handle it.  Those exotic grasses that grow from overflow in the bird feeders have become invasive, and are really hard to get rid of.  I worked in 15 minute stretches, stop and drink water and go back out.  I must have gotten a lot of grass bits and seeds on me, not to mention lots of little six-legged hitchhikers, because I have been itching the entire afternoon.
    Yesterday at the Center, I had a great time dying my scarf warp for our challenge, and an even better time dying the fabric for place mats and rugs.  I felt very Jackson Pollack-esque, pouring all the cups of leftover dyes on the fabric bundle!  I can't wait until tomorrow for the "reveal."  I will try to get my phone to talk to my computer to post the pictures on A Sweet Thread.
  I finally got a photo of LouAnn into the blog!  Usually she's the photographer, and I was very excited, but now must apologise for the quality of the photo.  She's there!  She's just a little blurry!
  I also got a final version of the aforementioned plum tart.  It ended up needing the plums to be turned into preserves, because they were simply too tart on their own.  I made a cream flavored with Anise Hyssop, a licorice-like herb that has most of its flavor in the flowers.  I put it on a pistachio pie dough, stacked the preserves on top and served it with luscious plum sorbet.  The photos I have are of the pre-preserve version, but you get the idea.  Well, you will as soon as the photos send!
  And I will leave with a photo of a bizarre plant I'd fallen in love with driving around this area.  It's a non-descript shrub until late July, when huge downward facing blossoms open like huge bells.  Mine is a beautiful melon-colored flower, and it makes the rest of the flower bed light up, since most other flowers are tired and hot right now.
  Stay cool and happy weaving!
Maggie