one headache after another.....

And yes, I mean real headaches.  The weather is the culprit - HOT, STEAMY and unrelenting.  Here in the Chicago area we have had temperatures and humidity levels in the 90s for what seems like weeks!  It is too hot outside to do anything.... I don't want to work in the garden, walk the dogs, or even sit out in the shade and read.  Any time you step out the door, it feels like you have walked INto a sauna and your body begins to sweat buckets.  Disgusting.  And I believe that going in and out of air-conditioning is what is aggravating my headaches.  That and thunderstorms that crop up almost every evening.  In the past 10 days we have had over 8" of rain.... and that just means more humidity and sweating and dripping.....

SO, to keep myself semi-occupied I have been doing indoor things like reading and knitting.  In the wintertime I read and knit, but the 'flavor" of my books and the texture of my knitting is different to match the season.  In keeping with the summer theme, I have read "the Help", which was very interesting, and "the Sweetgum Knit Lit Society", which was nice and light.  I found "the Help" to be a real eye-opener to this naive Northern lady.  I guess I have always known that black people were treated differently in the South, but I had no idea that Christian white people had such horrible opinions and beliefs, and could behave so badly, just to people who looked differently.  I would never imagine such a thing!  I hope that this sad condition is being changed through the years.  On the other hand, the Sweetgum Knit Lit Society is a much lighter image of life in the South, maybe because it takes place in current times, and it doesn't discuss the racial background of the characters.  It doesn't ignore social issues, in fact some serious social issues are central to the story, but they are not about race.  I enjoy the characters in this story, possibly because the main character is a small-town librarian, like my grandmother was.  I can just SEE my grandma in her little library as the author describes her character in the Sweetgum library.  Now, my grandma did not knit, or run a reading group, nor did she rescue any young girls.... but she DID see a lot that went on in town and relied on her job as her only income as a widow, well into her senior years.  I still miss her..... and she is one of the reasons that I went to Library School.

 Interspersed with reading, I would knit.  I am very proud to say that I have completed my first PAIR of socks that fit perfectly ;-) Aren't they cute?  I have two nice-sized bits of yarn left over, as well as a similar amount from another color.  I am going to use those left-overs to knit a scarf.  More on that later, when I start it.  Sock knitting is something that is easy to do in summer, as long as your hands don't get too sweaty!  It is a small, light project that doesn't sit in your lap and make you hotter!  And considering how much time I have had to do nothing BUT knit, I finished this pair in a little less than 3 weeks!  Now on to the next pair, and plenty more before Christmas ;-)

That's all for now.  I  am enjoying my first 36 hours without a headache and have plenty to get caught up on!