July post (one of one or many?

Well, the 4th of July happened last Saturday. I am only getting around to posting it today.

Megan, her husband Steve, Zach and I all went to Buhl for the Sagebrush day's fun run/walk. It was Zach's first competitive run since the half marathon. He only started training for it a few weeks ago, but he did pretty good anyway, coming in above the 50% mark. Steve was first in his age-group. Megan and I were suffering from overuse injuries obtained while following a runner's world beginning running training schedule. I will start training again when I am all healed, just not using this training schedule. She and I walked. We didn't walk very fast at first, but when we did, I had a heck of a time keeping up with her. She walks fast! We passed tons of people in the end, yet we still didn't place very well. I really think a lot of those people who were supposed to be walking started out running. That's cheating of course, but I am pretty sure they did.



When the race was over, we came to my house where I barbecued a rack of pork ribs. The kids went to get my dad, and that took longer than we thought it would, so the ribs were over-done, but still good. The corn was $.10 and ear at the new Walmart, so I got some. It wasn't too bad, small, but good.

We visited for a long time, then Steve and Megan went home. Zach took a nap, and then we went to CSI for the fireworks show. I had taken some advice from the internet. I think this advice was meant for places where the wind doesn't blow. I practiced the night before on some little fireworks Zach bought. I thought some of them turned out ok, grainy, but cool anyway. I thought I knew what I was doing when I headed off to the big show. My pictures there were all blurry, apparently I have no idea what the hyperfocal distance is, and the ones where the f-stop was set higher than 8 didn't look like fireworks at all. So, the pictures were disappointing, but, there is always next year.

The house my dad is building for me, is nearly ready for inspection. I have to convince Zach to come help us weld some grates for the window wells, the driveway has been poured, and it will be all good. My dad is really hoping to be done with it so that he can get on with his retirement, which will be filled with fixing up vintage cars, of course.

I thought I would be making good money this summer. I was wrong. It is hard to get people to keep their appointments in the summer time. They get so busy having fun I guess. They must think they don't need me so much. When school starts, I won't have enough time to fit them all in after school. Figures.

Zach and I went for a walk in Rock Creek canyon a few weeks before the fun run. I took pictures, but didn't like then when I got home. They aren't the best, but some are kind of cool. I really need to find more time to play with camera settings and really learn how this thing works. I like the picture of the shy snake as he rushed away to the creek. Zach spotted it. I just took pictures until it was gone. The robin was also hard to photograph. I think he was pretty sure I wanted him for dinner. The roses were pretty that day and smelled wonderful.

I am also in the mid to end stages of the daisy painting I have been working on for some years. I bought the pretty little daisies because Megan said she like them so much. Then I took pictures of them (all with the old camera) and found one I thought would look good painted. I then printed it out, laid a graph on it, then transferred the shape to a canvas that had been prepared by painting a black background with a rectangle of green leaf shapes. Then I blocked in the flower and left it for a couple of years. now I have revived the project and I think I am going to like the outcome. It was funny how the flower changed shapes with the picture taken from different perspectives. It really does seem to be coming out of the canvas. It is a fun project for me right now. The dragon I drew for a client. I gave it to him for meeting his goals. It's kind of weird looking, isn't it?

I have another project I need to get started on. I have to learn how to crochet baby booties and blankets. Not just for pregnant clients either. Megan has conceived. The due date should be on her birthday. Fingers crossed.

Wow, blogger is weird today. I couldn't move my pictures without a lot of trouble, then spellcheck said some words were spelled wrong and gave me alternatives that were exactly what I had typed! What is going on?!?