from inside the center court looking down Market St

The recovery committee in Philadelphia (and recovery means anyone making positive changes in their lives due to drugs, alcohol or serious mental illness) is having a Recovery Idol competition.  There are several men and women competing for a recording contract.  They have been singing in different venues all over the city since February.

We have a woman from our center in the competition and Friday they were singing outdoors in the Center Court of City Hall at noon.  One of my coworkers and I walked down to City Hall to offer support.  It was not unpleasant out, warm but not awful.  We got there in time to see our girl sing (and she was wonderful) and then walked back. 

Unfortunately, I was wearing my adorable Converse One Star sneakers (in pink) that have no support and are hell on your feet if you have to walk anywhere.  They are not made for walking, just looking cute.  All weekend, my ankles have let me know that it was a bad idea and I should not repeat it.

After a brief reprieve weather-wise, we're back in the soup again.  It's so humid.  I love July.  I love hot sunny days where you can feel the sun beat down on your head and it makes you feel like a kid with a whole sunny day ahead of you.  Humidity?  You can keep it.  It rained off and on Saturday morning and then the temps went up and that just made everything sticky.

Despite this, I managed to complete my Tour de Fleece challenge (I wanted to spin 6 ounces of fiber into laceweight yarn).  It's not quite as thin as I'd like it but it's fairly consistent and gorgeous.  I'm quite proud of it.  If there's enough yardage, it will become a Forest Canopy shawl (Pk says I should add some green in there as well but I may do some double stitching in green to add bits of color to it).  It's been washed and is hanging to dry but that may take a while (humidity).

Today, we got up early and went to the flea market at Columbus with the girls (and Jim).  We walked around and I think everyone found something they wanted.  Pk found some planes (for making wood molding) and a pair of scissors that he's going to clean up for me.  They were once enameled with tourquoise and red designs.  They're incredibly well made and with a little work will make good sewing scissors.

I found some interesting things.  A quart container of buttons.  Kate and I were looking at it and there was no price.  She said "offer her 10 dollars and maybe she'll sell them all to you".  The woman came over and said "oh, that's a dollar".  FOR THE WHOLE THING.  We snapped it up (it's filled with all sizes of buttons in greys, blues, reds and greens and some black, still on the cards in small bags for individual sale)!  She asked me if I knew how much buttons cost nowadays (and patterns) and I said yes, I was well aware.  I started to feel a bit like I had taken advantage but there was no bargaining.  She named a price and I paid it. 

I also bought a small china dish that will sit on my dresser and hold my watch and rings at the end of the day and a patch from Camp Inawendiwin.  It's like I was meant to have this.  I spent some of the best weekends of my young life there as a Girl Scout.  They must have issued this badge for the bicentennial in 1976 (I would have been a senior in high school and had just left the scouts).  It was on the top of a box of patches and I bought it.  I have a jacket full of Camp Inawendiwin (which supposedly means friendship) patches and girl scout badges and I'm thinking of taking them off and making a blanket with them. 

It was hot today and of course, humid, but we walked around for about two and a half hours before we called it quits and went to the diner for brunch.  Pk and I came home and have been slugs ever since.  He's been working hard on a new programming language at work this week and it's worn him out.  I keep reminding him that when we learn anything new, it's hard work. 

It's been a good weekend.  The first part of the week promises to be brutally hot and humid so we'll be slow.  Since tomorrow is supposed to be the least hot day, we'll hit the gym on the way home and then take it easy on Tues and Wed.  I think the heat will break on Thursday. This has been an especially hot summer (after a mild winter) and we are adjusting ourselves to it. 

Wherever you are, I hope your weekend was a good one.