Old Summer

Fresh camera, new cotton towels from Sofia Arnold,  Flying Duck Chinese Kite, paper flower weaving, and a new We're Not Out of the Woods Yet  rosepath scarf.  Mr. Pike, puffing smoke from his bee-smoker to sedate the swarming bees,  has harvested honey from all the bee boxes.  A cricket chirps in my work room--good luck!  Summer's almost done.

Chinese Kites!

New in the store this week are these beautiful, hand painted silk traditional Chinese kites. I'm infatuated! There are butterflies, owls, dragonflies and swans. Each one comes in a cloth covered box with ribbon ties, and cord handles.  The kites assemble easily in a few minutes, and just as easily come undone, to go back in their boxes.  They have bamboo frames, and each of many joints is tied with string wraps and glue. They are rather sturdy.

The plastic reel winder, with orange nylon flying line, screws, nuts, and satisfying tick-tick-tick sound while winding, is an old school toy all on its own.  I can imagine my own boy once upon a time standing on the bridge with something tied to the string letting it go downstream, until he wound it back.