and then she blinked ...

 ... and another weekend had flown by.

Lots of insomnia projects this week.

A wild tiger on the loose.

A new throne for his Highness.

I attended a Summer Solstice celebration, where I shared my favorite poem by Albert Camus "Invincible Summer."

More crafty stuff ~ recovered a small lampshade.

Made some coasters for the blue table on the front porch.

There has been other things going on.

But I'm focusing on the good for now.

around a bend or two ...

This is our new routine.

I get up and get coffee.

Charlie goes back to bed.

He is sleeping more and eating less.

We had a follow-up vet visit last Wednesday with bloodwork drawn for a complete physical.  They also did a needle aspiration of the odd lumps he has and sent it off to be examined.  He thinks they are lipomas, but I just want to be sure because of how rapidly one of them grew.   Other than those, his bloodwork was excellent for a dog his age, and at some point in the near future he will get his teeth cleaned.  Maybe after I get this $800+ bill paid off.

This was Wednesday, just before his vet appointment.

Handsome little man with his bow tie.

Saturday I happened upon the last five minutes of an estate sale and snagged this chest footstool for $10 that goes well with the $15 chair I picked up a few weekends ago at a yard sale.

Now I have somewhere to sit to watch TV when I trash the raw sewage-infested sofa courtesy of my incompetent slumlord's ignorant repairs.

Oops.  Did I say that out loud?

The buffet that has seen multiple variations in the past few months is finally finished.

All of the quirky things that would probably only have been noticed by me have been fixed.

Sunday I drove to Pence Springs which has a HUGE flea market.

But to get there I had to drive through Alderson, which apparently has the best fireworks show in the county.

It is a river community, and this bridge ^ is open only to pedestrians.

I did not venture into the historic side which was across the bridge as I only stopped on the way back when I was hungry, tired, and a little sunburnt.

This was a stunning church, and house next to it.

On another trip, I would like to venture inside the church and get pictures of the stained glass windows.

Love.This.House!

That front porch ... simply gorgeous.

The river was quite busy with people in kayaks and small boats and floats.

This was one of my treasures from the flea market.

I tend to gravitate to venders selling homemade crafts and not so much the ones selling the junk from Grandma's attic or basement.

The maker of this sweet baby felt that it was "inferior" because the lily pad was curled up on one side, but I told her husband that it looked to me because that's what they look like in the lake.

She also made this beautiful mushroom.

This will hang on my Diwali tree in the fall because of the peacocks.

Just because Bipan won't be here, doesn't mean I don't think of him.

On the other side of the county for a different purpose the same day, I decided to finally stop and see Humpback Bridge.  [<< link]

Covered bridges are a dying gem, and who knows how much longer this one will last.

the road to best intentions ...

No idea what new style trend
he was trying to set with the
wind-blown ear look.

 ... well, we know where that usually leads.  I had intended to pick up a new storyline, but then life happened.

Charlie had a grooming [a.k.a. manscaping] session on Saturday morning which revealed another infected anal gland in the early stages of anger.

That prompted a Monday afternoon vet visit, to a new doctor.  It was the best vet experience either of us have ever had.  The doctor spent more than an hour and a half in one-on-one time with us!

Charlie's after-visit "report card" stated he was "sweet and cooperative."  It also had a "Good Job" star for me!  He is on a different antibiotic, 2x a day for 10 days.

I attempted to finish my cabinet with the new handles, however, they weren't the size described, and would not fit.  Apparently, 4.25" centers are not universally understood, and I got 4" centers.

My solution was to "Rodger" it (a reference to my father who would improvise solutions to his carpentry and house remodeling projects).  I bought another power tool!

This time I bought a Dremel tool with a drill bit and made the handle holes 1/8" larger on the inside of each so that the handles would fit.  You wouldn't think that 1/8" makes that much of a difference, but in carpentry it does.  Measure twice, and cut once.

But I wasn't satisfied with how the paper looked on the bottom drawer, so ripped it all off to try to sand it down further and remove more of the top veneer layer.  I'd previously gotten an electric sander, but after working on it for several hours, realized I needed to get a coarser grit paper.  Alexa, order more sandpaper from Amazon!

I want to get this project done before I have to move because I have another project I want to refinish before that happens.

My next project will be this secretary desk that someone attempted to finish in crackle paint.

Since I have nearly a full gallon of green paint, I will probably paint the exterior the same green, but I am thinking of a contrasting color on the trim wood seen here and on the interior.

I ordered the Amazonite stone pulls for the drawer before I decided to paint it green, and they will look nice against the green.  Wallpaper won't be an option for the interior because it will be too small and far back to be seen.  

When doing a walk-through of another house, I saw a similar desk that was bright turquoise on the exterior and a hot pink interior.  It's not the color scheme I want to use, but it made me think.  I have a piece of faux leather to attach later on the writing table when it is opened.

I saw this color scheme when looking at houses online, and I love it, so will find a blue to go with the green to use on the interior and on the trim at the bottom of the writing table.

What else ... I'm having work-related stress and neck issues that are interfering with my sleep.  I have filed a work comp claim for the neck issues but unfortunately, I have to wait for that to move forward before I can do anything more medically with my PCP.

In the meantime, I'm trying not to become an alcoholic or drug addict to cope with both issues.

Oh, speaking of alcoholic drug addicts ... my ex was arrested [again] for a domestic violence assault last September in Wisconsin, and the restraining order that I have against him expires this month.  But his one-year probation for the September assault should keep him in WI for a while longer.  What amazed me about his arrest was that it started as four FELONY charges, including "battery substantial/aggravated," and "injury by negligent use of a weapon or explosive." Despite his previous DV conviction against me [which included a four-year unheard-of restraining order], and his three felony convictions, these new charges were downgraded to four misdemeanors by the time he got to sentencing.  Clearly, his issues still revolve around drugs and alcohol because as part of his probation, he has to complete [another] rehab program and stay clean and sober.

I feel for his wife and two young daughters because I don't think she was the one involved in the DV case.