Spoilers, spoilers, EVERYWHERE!

I'm trying hard not to find out ANYTHING about the newest HP book. I bought the book at a midnight party and I've been reading every chance I've had since, but I've been so busy, plus I'm not a fast reader nor do I wish to zip through the only new HP fix I'll have until the last book comes out, I'm still only about halfway through and already I feel like I'm having to make it through the day like a minefield full of spoiler bombs ready to go off when I least expect it. I've practically stopped reading e-mail because they're particularly thick online. My sister called midday yesterday and I knew the minute I heard her voice, she'd finished the book already. I told her I'd call her back when I finished too. Even the evening news has been carrying HP tidbits. If it wasn't so hot, I'd wear a pair of earmuffs.

I'm torn between wanting to read and wanting to do something about my life and house, which has somehow become a huge logjam of projects. I got home from yet another trip, this one to visit son and DIL in San Diego, what....four or five days ago?... but the mess from the trip is still tripping us up as it's piled all over the living room and dining room and bedroom and .... okay, all over the entire friggin' house.

I've been busy getting entries ready for the county fair. I finally finished up all the photo entries. Well, as many as I could anyway. I entered about twice as many, knowing I wouldn't do them all but wanting to pick and choose at the last minute. I got inspired after I got the first batch in early for the Saturday deadline and rushed to the store for some more frames and printer ink and did an entire second round of them. Somehow halfway through the process my printer decided to give all my 8 X 10 settings giant white borders and no matter what I tried, including setting it for, duh, "no borders", it didn't fix the problem. I hope the judges don't disqualify some of my photos because of it. I'd have to win ALL blue ribbons to pay for all the expense of creating the photos, but it's all for the fun and the small town glory anyway.

I make my "money" (this is a joke, as I've never made more then enough to pay back my fair tickets and food) on my floral and ag entries. Along with the cut stem entries, I also enter in the miniature display category and last year I tried a full display. This year along with six miniatures, I signed up for THREE full sized displays and I've spent most of today trying to decide how to put them together. Usually I only select entry classes that inspire an idea, but there were no "good" classes this year, so I just signed up for a few and hoped to be inspired when push came to shove and the deadline arrived, which it has. The three classes I entered are called "Sunny Delights" (use yellow), Knowing the Angels, and Exhibitor's Choice. I wandered all around the house, the garden, and an antique/junque store (I was going to hit the thrift stores but they're all closed on Mondays) and think I have some rough ideas figured out, although I'm missing one important element for the Exhibitor's choice idea and finding it will require moving a bunch of boxes around in the very hot, dusty garage. I'm not sure if it's worth the effort.

I also managed to get the dishwasher and washing machine running this morning and I'll have to clear off the table at some point today (you have no idea how precariously piled it is - everything but the kitchen sink), because I'll need it as a work space. The problem isn't, for a change, no adrenalin or enthusiasm or energy on my part. Well, it is no energy, but not my fault in any way. It's the damn weather. It's been in the 100's for close to a week and the forecast is saying not to expect a break for at least the next week. I commented last night that the temps were in the "high 100's" and William said "High hundreds, huh?" Oops, I guess it hasn't been, say, 178 or 192 degrees. I meant the higher end of the first ten degrees over 100, if that makes any sense. I meant it's been 105 and 106. UGHHGGGGHHHHH. So it's been hard to get anything done because it's like moving through molasses to move. Last night I finally got a touch of heat sickness, we'd been outside a lot of the day for a wedding reception. I had to go sit in an air conditioned restaurant for an hour to get my body temp down. It worked. I'll probably have to do the same thing today and I'll bring along Harry, Hermione, and Ron.

Laume