This morning was my last session at the gym for a while, though I do plan on swimming laps daily in the oly-sized pool up at the hot springs like I did last year.  And maybe (!) my hand will be recovered enough by the time we return that I can return to upper body workouts once a week?

Also finished up Season 12 of Grey's Anatomy while I worked on the final step of the cactus binding; happy to report that my hand cooperated with the hand-sewing better today than it did yesterday!  Now I just have to wait patiently until Season 13 starts in the Fall.  I'll obviously have to be satisfied with one episode a week - and deal with commercials.  No more binge watching... at least of Grey's Anatomy!

 

The cactus is now mostly done, with just the lower right corner left to do, though I'm going to give my hand a break for a bit.  As promised it's looking considerably more rectangular than the previous shot of it.  At least my corners are squared; Dad would be proud!

I received an e-mail from Terry this morning about the next selection for their book club the end of July (I've enjoyed their meetings and discussions over the past several summers), when she expects we'll still be there!  (I always worry about wearing out our welcome, but she always talks us into staying longer.)  

So I shot an e-mail to my sister Marilyn, who promptly found the epub version and sent it to me; now it's happily ensconced on my iPad - which means I have no excuses for not having it read by book club date! 

"A debut novel chronicling the life and loves of a headstrong, earthy, and magnetic heroine.

Eastern Oklahoma, 1928. Eighteen-year-old Maud Nail lives with her rogue father and sensitive brother on one of the allotments parceled out by the U.S. Government to the Cherokees when their land was confiscated for Oklahoma’s statehood. Maud’s days are filled with hard work and simple pleasures, but often marked by violence and tragedy, a fact that she accepts with determined practicality. Her prospects for a better life are slim, but when a newcomer with good looks and books rides down her section line, she takes notice. Soon she finds herself facing a series of high-stakes decisions that will determine her future and those of her loved ones.

Maud’s Line is accessible, sensuous, and vivid. It will sit on the bookshelf alongside novels by Jim Harrison, Louise Erdrich, Sherman Alexie, and other beloved chroniclers of the American West and its people."