Finished the futon cover…

…and it is every bit as beautiful as I had hoped! Deep burgundy, luminously glowing with that shimmer only silk can have–gorgeous. Goes really well with the dark cherry frame and dark cherry floor, too.

Now I’m turning my attention to hanging my treasures from Southeast Asia, starting with the 2’x4′ silk rug. I think I’m going to sew it to some blanket binding, then run a rod through the binding and hang it using the rod. How exactly this works I’m not sure yet, but no doubt inspiration will come. Next weekend I plan to pick up some other rods (perhaps bell pull hangers) and use them to hang my tapestries. Tomorrow they’re supposed to paint the front hallway (it didn’t get repainted with the rest of the apartment) so I can finally look into getting some of my thangka framed and hung there. So much to do!

I have received the book on designing origami and it is everything I’d hoped for. The author is a physicist at JPL, whom I met once, briefly, when I was at Caltech. (I had been trying to fold his origami blue crab for three weeks, without success, and finally called him up to ask. He invited me to come see him after his lecture, and was kind enough to show me how to fold it. Turned out there was an incorrect diagram in the book! no wonder it had been stumping me for weeks.) In this book, which is rich in diagrams illustrating his exact point, he lays out the design principles of origami. I’m only one chapter into it but I’m very happy with it. I plan to curl up with it and really read through it, as soon as I get the chance.

B. and I are definitely getting into cooking together. Last night we did pan-fried steak with shallot and white wine sauce; a dozen Drake’s Bay oysters on the half shell; and bagna cauda, a mix of olive oil, anchovies, and garlic that is utterly delicious (and the recipe of Babylon 5 fame). The Drake’s Bay oysters were my discovery (I bought them at the Ferry Plaza farmer’s market, from the Hog Island Oyster Co.)–creamy and delicious. The rest of it was B.’s inspiration–hey, the man can cook! (Hands off, I saw him first! 🙂 )

Just sent out my fundraising letters and am waiting to see the results…meanwhile, I am training, training, training for the ride. This week has been a (much-needed) rest week, then next week I spend 11 hours and 15 minutes training. Doesn’t sound like much, but the body’s limit is something like 14-15 hours (at least, that’s my body’s limit), so I’m starting to push it.