the Beautiful was all around, pt. 2

...And also the ridiculous.

While sitting shoreside, knitting, chatting, making sure no one drowned, and sharing book titles with a dear friend, I became aware of this odd buzz/hummy sort of sound. Very rhythmic. Perhaps a boat rubbing on another something? Pretty soon, the above creature, buzz-humming through his face mask, came forth from the unbriny depths and I captured him on film. (This might possibly be the best picture of summer, but let me know if you disagree.)

We also saw these creepy crawlies as well.

above photo by Mr. CraftingMama

(this one's for you Aunt Carrrie, check that greenish one out in full-size)

Did I mention the knitting? The maker of these socks was reclined in a hammock, oh so lovely, creating these rainbow visions for her feet. She finished the first sock in about one day plus a little more---I know, crazy. And she complained about the second sock syndrome??? Go figure.

The sweater sleeve! Begun here. And then here (again). This picture is just a few inches from completion. Now it's done.

Some of us adore strategy games like this one (and for the record, my gamer says that this is the original plus TWO extension sets, Seafarers and Knights/Cities), and if you're a regular reader, you'll know I'm not one of them. The rules alone sometimes take hours to hash out, and I'm pretty ready to move on after about the first 10 minutes of this. "I'll trade you a sheep for a brick." This is the type of talk that you hear when you walk by the game table and it sounds pretty absurd: really? a whole game about sheeps and bricks???

The days begin like this. Reading on the porch in our cozy nests of hoodies and blankets, sometimes cuddling up with a friend or relation for added warmth. The Personal Librarian was remiss this year, for although she came bearing a bag of library books (13 in all), the complete TinTin collection stayed at home. (Not entirely an oversight, but let's move on). Bilious blue blistering barnacles, in the words of Captain Haddock! I promise promise to never leave Tintin and Snowy behind again!