A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood

I'm beginning to hate cactus!!  Otherwise, it really was a gorgeous day.  I spent the first couple of hours waiting for daylight with the Coopster laying on my leg.  This is probably the main reason my back hurts ... sitting too much.  It's all good though because it gave his back that much more time to heal up.

Here's my brick project.  I took this picture at just the right angle so you really can't see how crooked it is.  It's close enough for me.  You can't see it here, but there's a dang cactus at the other end that is the bane of my existence.  Every time I turn around, I hit that thing and get covered with teeny tiny thorns that are so small you can't see them at all.   But believe me, I can FEEL them.  

When I was done for the day, I rubbed my hands on my jeans and discovered they were COVERED with thorns.  Rubbing just pushed them into my skin.  How do you get rid of them??  I used a brush and a sticky tape roller on the jeans.  It got some of them, but not all.  I washed them in really hot water for an hour.  I wouldn't bother, but they are one of my favorite pair.  

To make it even worse, I now have thorns in my hands, fingers and right leg.  I literally dug a hole in my right hand trying to get one out.  It's still there.  The only way to see them is with a jewelers loop, which of course I don't have with me.  I doubt I could bend over far enough to get them out of my leg anyway.  AND I just discovered my favorite shirt is covered with them.  TRIPLE RATS!!!!

I gave up on the mow strip for the day, figuring I wouldn't push my luck and set up my carving station.  Lucky for me, there is an outlet right close to the back door.  I tried the first burr, touted to be the best in the land, and got absolutely nowhere!  I was pretty sure the second one would work better and it did.  Dust went spewing everywhere.

I was glad I picked up some masks, although as you probably know, breathing in them fogs up your glasses.  A least I won't die of gourd fungus in my lungs.  In the end, it came out MUCH better than before.  Just a little sanding will finish up the edges.  Since this is the test model, I'm going to do more burning on it before saying it's done.

If anyone knows the secret to getting those minuscule thorns out of my clothes, please let me know.  I sure hate to throw away two of my favorite pieces of clothing.  Ones that actually FIT!!  Oh ... the cactus?  Half of it disappeared yesterday.  Gosh, I have no idea where it might have gone!!