As promised, here are the pics from Day #2 of the beaded daruma.

Even though I'd announced my retirement from the County Fair craft competition after winning the Grand Prize last year, the contest coordinators convinced me to remain a participant. I really thought they would ask me to be a judge, but that didn't happen. Instead, they explained that they want me to keep entering my crafts, even if I don't enter as many things as I have in the past. Because my rather unique and eclectic collection of crafts brought renewed interest to what was turning into one of the most boring venues at the County Fair, they're afraid that if people don't see my name associated with the competition anymore, they'll stop entering things themselves. I didn't think I was that influential in the contest, but, apparently, I'm the person who's set all of the new standards... so I'm the one to beat. Hmmph, goes to show what I know.

No Obon post this week. They did have a dance this weekend, in fact there were two of them at the Lahaina Hongwanji, but two large fires on the way out there kept me from attending either one. The fires themselves were basically extinguished by the time the dances were held, but I chose to stay away at my doctor's suggestion. Considering I can smell cigarette smoke virtually anywhere in a three block radius, it probably wouldn't have been a good idea for me to be dancing for two hours (per night) in an area just down the street from where over 1000 acres burned to the ground.

I've been trying to get through all of the crafts that I wanted to make (and promised to others) this year. At 5:20 this afternoon, I finally finished the afghan I told

apaisamma