It's been really hot here for the last couple days, at 90F/30C & quite humid, making it hard to breathe when one is outside.This afternoon it rained a bit, but didn't cool off much. But the grass was turning brown, so we needed moisture. Rufus stays cool by napping with the air conditioning on.

    Yesterday (Tuesday), was my monthly book meeting where we did Zadie Smith's first novel "White Teeth" about several families in the UK. Only 3 of us liked it (I was one of them) & the comments of the rest of the group made me wonder if they were racist, since various remarks were objecting to the most trivial things in the book. We did her most recent book "On Beauty" a few months ago & many were the same way. I  like the author's characters are distinctly drawn & acutely observed & her style is quite descriptive.

    Before the meeting several of us had lunch at The Treehouse, a restaruant nside an antique store. It's a much fancier place than I'm used to eating & their food is very good, though I thought my slice of quiche should've been larger for the price. The atmosphere there is quite nice & I suggested we return next month, so they can brace themselves for more complaints about the serving size.

     I'm working on several art projects in various states of completion for the Cold-Blooded Creations Show in August. It's adjunct to the National Reptile Expo & follows the same theme, with amphibians. The frog drawing I'm doing is going really well & a gecko idea is coming together nicely. I'll post them here when I've finished.

  This is my new Betta/Siamese fighting fish that I got on Memorial Day, May 28th, (just downloaded the pics). His name is Prince, but not after the singer, as he's not even wearing a raspberry beret. He's a show quality fish, which meant he cost a bit more, though he didn't look all that different than the others.

   Surprisingly enough, I had gotten well enough by Saturday to go with my sister to antique show in a park by Lake Erie. It was years since I'd gone to this one & my sister had never been, so we set out on a perfect summer day; hot but not muggy, with a cool breeze.There was plenty of tables, but not as many customers as expected, so it was easy to get close to everything.

   Since I'm on a small budget, I couldn't buy much of what caught my eye, so I took photos. Colored glass is always what I like best at antique shows, but I also found some medival themed objects yesterday, most notably these bookends with a knight in shining armour. The seller would only take $5 off, so they remained out of reach. I even found a light that matched. One of my favorite things is a series of ceramic rabbits dressed in various outfits from Merry Olde England. They are about 4 inches high & ridiculously expensive. But I always love to check out the characters & outfits and yesterday saw some I hadn't before, such as one wearing lederhosen & another in a shamrock waistcoat.This legal rabbit is one of my favorites.

   There was some weird stuff on display: large sculptures of eagles & panthers, barstools made of tin with Bicentenial designs, ceramic bowls with unexplained openings, a set of cannisters shaped like mushrooms.

 My sister likes watches & clocks, which is ironic for someone who is always late. Plus she is constantly aquiring old purses that she never seems to use. Yesterday she added one of each to her "collections". She had her eye on some table lamps with Baroque shepherdesses, but managed to resist. I spent less than $20 for a couple bags of marbles, a field guide to African birds & a few Beanie Baby stuffed animals(squirrel, frog, rhino). But it was a pleasant day meandering among old & fascinating objects, wondering about their history & the people who owned them before.

    Haven't been posting because I'm really, really  sick. I got a severe cold in addition to the bronchitis & am absolutely miserable. I'll write a proper post when I'm feeling better, which hopefully will be soon.

    Rufus continues to steadily improve. He's even drinking some water now & then, which is a step in the right direction.

    It's been a week full of activity, some of it not much fun. Rufus continues to heal, but is still not drinking water. I have been squirting pedialyte & Gatorade into his mouth to get some liquid into him, as well as rinsing his veggies & not drying them. Some days he eats better than others, but is generally quite playful, spending lots of time ripping up the newspaper lining his cage. The fur is starting to grow back on his little tummy where the operation was done. The antibiotic is continuing, we're on the second bottle & he's getting more difficult about taking it. He has so many ways of turning his head to avoid it! The whole process is amusing & frustrating at the same time.

    My bronchitis got much worse this week. I've had it since the beginning of May & by last weekend I was coughing so much, I'd start vomiting. I spent several days trying to get medical attention for it, only to be thwarted by the ridiculous rules of my HMO. Finally, on Friday, I found an urgent care center who took my insurance, (though at first they told me they'd never heard of it) and now have medicine for it. Yay! I'm already coughing less, so the meds seem to be working.

    Also on Friday, I entered a local Botanical Art Show. Judging is Wed. & they only contact accepted artists. One of my entries has a snake in it, so I'm not sure if I'll get in or not. I also submitted 2 pictures for their consignment shop at the same gallery, so I may be in for a lot of rejections. Or maybe not.

   The couple  who used to live next door, but moved to another place about 5 minutes away, invited me to kittysit while they went out of town yesterday. They have 4 cats who were all very pleased to see me. I had a lot of fun with them & took a bunch of photos in order to give them their own entry in the near future.

    This week brings a diabetic doctor appointment, but not much else that I know of. As if that's not dreadful enough. lol