"July," Sort of

I didn't finish "July," but I made pretty good progress considering my homework. In the meantime, a few more patriotic charts arrived and I made a tiny start in one of them, which I'll show you when it looks like something.

I went to a 4th of July party at my sister's, and we had great food and played with sparklers. The flame on the left is a mosquito lantern, which I highly recommend.

[Edited to add photos of family members who were disappointed to see nothing but a disembodied hand holding a sparkler in this blog entry.]
It's impossible not to cackle gleefully while holding a sparkler. Also impossible not to swish it around, even if you're (sort of) an adult. My sis:

Bug spray. Necessary when stepping away from the tiki torches. Sis's BF, a fun guy who showed us how to season a grill with an onion.

Contemplating eating the last deviled egg:


I picked up Shepherd's Bush "Tiny Flag" at the framer's.

I had to show you this house. It's sampler-worthy. I went for a walk through F-burg with my camera and stopped to stare at this house; there's something going on with the color in the bright sunlight. I went back today because it was drizzling and I figured the effect would be gone, but it wasn't entirely. Here's the house: a nice Queen Anne Victorian, circa 1890. There's something electric about the color though.

Look at the front porch. See the spring green ceiling and floor? It's hard to do show with the camera but it positively shimmers in the sun. If you live in the area, it's on Fauquier Street, and it's very worth the drive. I'd love to buy this house, and tragically for me, it's for sale--such bad timing, since we couldn't unload our current house (not that I really want to--but still--a special house like this comes on the market but once in a blue moon. Or in a green porch.) It's renovated and looks to be in very good condition; the real estate photos show a nice interior renovation that modernizes the kitchen but doesn't destroy the nice old features of this period home.

Here's a group snorgle. Pink, Elvis and Peaches are concerned this evening about their friend, Fats, who was wounded and has gotten some vet care and needs some medicine his mom (who's a glassblower) can't afford. If you want purchase some beautiful art glass, make a little donation or just wish Fats well, please go here.

Happy week ahead, all!