Bookcase

It took me ages to figure out how to do ICM with my phone, but once the right app is installed, it’s quite easy. This shot of my bookcase is sort of a dry run, but I will be practicing more with it in future.

Our attempts to get a railing built beside the 30 steps up to the top where the raised beds are have been frustrating and largely abortive. We really liked the guy who put in the deck railings and sever other ones around, but he’s not answering his phone. Then we got David to agree to do it but he, somewhat typically, has dropped the ball and sloped off to someplace with a lot of big trees (the only thing we could make of the photo he sent in response to John’s text citing our uncertain insurance situation for why we no longer needed his services).

After some discussion, and admitting that we really didn’t want to spend a lot of money on such a long railing, we decided on a compromise…John says he will use a different route to the top which has only a short flight of steps next to the pump house and then turns into a path. He has been busy today installing a new railing next to the steps. When it cools off a bit we’ll carry our pre dinner wine up to the arbor up there to test it out.

I was able to get a start on a quilt for us today, and realized that part of my interest in making quilts is that I love fabric. I wish we had a better fabric store in town, but I’ve found that I’m getting familiar enough with certain lines of fabric that I can order them online without making too many bad choices. It seems a bit counter-productive, but it’s a good thing to do when it’s too hot to spend much time in the garden.

I've been listening to a podcast about the failure of FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) during and after Hurricane Katrina to help the people of New Orleans. That was in 2005, but not much has changed, as has been demonstrated by subsequent woefully inadequate responses to fire and flood emergencies both here, in Hawaii.  and elsewhere. In every case, it seems that the people in charge were simply not up to the task....