Smack Dab in the Middle of Summer

It's definitely summer now. Summer's in full swing.
Swimming lessons are over for the year. Drew has outgrown the program, but Emma's now had four weeks of swimming instruction and will probably go back next year, too. Just one more time. It's a lot of fun for the kids, but it's so important, considering how much water is around here. And how many people have pools around here. Here's my little water princess:



This was one of those days when, around four o'clock, a girl starts to feel a little sluggish. She starts scanning all surroundings for a cushy sofa and focuses on finding a dark corner to catch a quick wink. Unfortunately, this girl found one at her mom's house when she went to pick up the kids this afternoon.
I kind of fell into it and it was really hard to get back out. A drive through Starbucks? Just the thing. I'm doing my part to make sure that my Starbucks isn't one of the ones that will be closed.
Just a tall half-caf, please. That's all I need. But give it to me black. Oh - and one of those little shortbread cookie packages, too? They don't have any eggs in them. I can eat those cookies.
And after that little pick-me-up, I was ready for anything. We pulled into the driveway just in time to settle in before the afternoon rain. The showers here kind of blossom wherever the sea breezes converge. Sometimes it's a little north of us, sometimes a little south. But today, they converged exactly over my house. It was loud and glorious! And, as I was caffeinated, I enjoyed it thoroughly.



And since all was going so well, dinner seemed to call for a little music. And José González? Your music makes me do that little hip swivel thing that is so exuberant it forces the top half of me to swivel in the opposite direction. Excellent cooking moves. Especially if you are only really cooking spaghetti and can focus mostly on the hip-swivelling, knowing that your children are busy using up their daily allotment of computer time and won't bother looking at you.
Our city's fireworks are supposed to be tonight....we'll see if the rain clears up. I think we'll park at my brother's house and walk to the lake to see them, since he's only a block away from the lake. Excellent.

DAILY BLISS: leaving work a little early