Smoke Gets in your . . .

The air quality is at an all-time high. I can't fathom how fire fighters deal with the smoke because my chest hurts. We're suffering some allergy problems. The fires started in southern CA. last weekend and continue to burn, though, most of them are nearly contained and some people have been able to return home. The Santa Ana winds didn't help matters but it's the arsonists who are the real cause of most of the fires. The loss of homes, lives, and pets is unimaginable.

It's not every day a camera can be aimed directly at the sun, but the smokey sky made the above photo possible, sadly.
For the last few hours a cloud covering has made the smokey air even more oppressive so I'm attempting to find something cheerful. The altered photo of the plumeria nearly provided just the right amount of cheer, but the winner is the snail vine. What an awful name for a gorgeous vine. This particular vine is winding its way up the post on the left side of the pergola. The lavender flowers resemble sweet peas; in the insert on the bottom right of the photo is a close-up of the snail shaped buds.


Vessel disaster: The distressed rust dyed felt won't behave itself! I forget out porous lutradur is; glue seeps right through it. I was hoping that enough of the felt would adhere to the lutradur so that I could further attach it with some stitches. It's not happening. Back to the drawing board, so to speak. But first the glue needs to dry.