I’m quite a lot further along after this month — possibly because cross-stitching was really the only thing that the brutal heat would allow. We didn’t even get our usual Southern-California consolation, “but it’s a dry heat,” because it was not. I’ve got Mr. Peacock down through about a third of his tail, and mostly outlined, but as a result, I think I’ve got a bit of peacock fatigue. (Yes, that’s a real thing, ask anyone who has worked this piece….) All those leaves. And so I’m thinking a bit about knitting —
Maybe I can finish this in time to wear it for the Christmas concert in early December ….
Have been thinking wistfully of my “Lucy Diamond” quilt, now that it is merely “warm” enough to bear having it on my lap while I do the hand-quilting! I am still utterly delighted by this quilt.
It has not been, of course, too hot to read, and so I went through all three volumes of the Lord of the Rings cycle, then turned — I don’t know what made me think of it — to The Lost Queen of Egypt, which was an indelible part of my childhood, and the start of a lifelong fascination with Ancient Egypt. Aside from the twists and turns of later research (Tutankhamon’s health and the cause of his death, as well as his parentage, especially, still both the subject of much theorizing), the story itself holds up very well as it approaches its 90th anniversary — I can’t hold it against Morrison that she draws her heroine with an admiring brush, so to speak, for the spirited and lively Ankhesenpaaten is an engaging heroine, and Morrison’s prose is beautifully atmospheric, often appropriately elegant and courtly in dialogue, as befits Egyptian kings and queens, and richly rewarding for those who can understand that people of the past spoke and behaved differently from the way we do now.
And in between all of these things, I am at the stage of sewing rings onto a new set of curtains for our breakfast room — two fairly large windows facing west, and one facing north. We kept thinking “blackout fabric would help” and so I thought, “right, now’s the time!” In keeping with the 1930s kitchen that we hope to start putting back soon, I chose an “Aunt Grace” reproduction by Judie Rothermel — “Dandelion” — and am quite happy with the results!
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