I hope you were treated to an amazing sky show tonight.

It seems a little silly to do a weekend planning post when the weekend is already a third over. That’s right — I was one of those lucky people who got a July 4th observed holiday off today. I celebrated my observed holiday by sleeping in, doing some cleaning, watering the garden, getting takeout pizza for supper (at a substantially discounted rate with a gift certificate now that I don’t feel horrible about redeeming them again), and watching a great documentary.

Tomorrow I’m sad to report that there will be fireworks down along the Mall. Our Mayor and the governors of Maryland and Virginia asked the federal government to cancel them this year for the health and welfare of the public, and you can guess how well that went over. So instead the Mayor has simply asked us all to skip them, which I will in favor of a movie of some sort. I’m out of yogurt for our traditional red, white, and blue parfaits, so instead I’ll probably opt for blueberry pancakes, strawberry daiquiris, and cherry cobbler topped with whipped cream.

Tomorrow also looks the most manageable in terms of prolonged time outside (today was nearly 100; tomorrow will be comparatively cooler at only 91), so I’m going to go pull out my desiccated pea vines, plant my sprouting potatoes, and add some beans for the fall.

Sunday, I forgot to book a reserved time for the farmers market, so I have to attempt to game the line to get in. Because later is better in that case, I preordered some produce to make sure we got the last blueberries and first corn on the cob of the season. Rudi’s thinking he’s going to drive out to the countryside for his first ride away from the area this year, and I think my friend Sarah and I will get together outside for a drink or an ice cream cone.

Somewhere in there will be some laundry. Also, brewing more tea for iced tea/Arnold Palmers. (We’ve made green, mint, and currant/raspberry/hibiscus so far; next up will be pots of pomegranate/pear/ginger and a black of some kind — possibly Darjeeling. Maybe I’ll even brew up a batch of chai concentrate for iced chai.) I’m planning to spend some time reading and maybe knitting. Plus, we really do need to finish up this cleaning that we’ve been doing in the apartment.

How is your weekend going? Do you have special plans?

Three beautiful things from my past week:

1. My semi-annual review was this week and my boss said really nice things about me.

2. One of the people in the neighborhood has a basset hound puppy. Watching its tail wagwagwag as it’s helped up onto the bench where its person is sitting so it can licklicklick his face is adorable.

3. We are a week into a heat wave, but it’s been a little less humid than usual, so there’s actual relief in the evenings. We’ve been trying to make sure we spend time at dusk in the park (along with many of our neighbors) and that we open the window after dark to let in some fresh air.

How about you? What’s been beautiful in your world lately?

I really need to get to the park before dusk, because then I would actually be able to spend some time knitting on my heel flap. Once you get past the gusset decreases of a top-down sock, you’re practically home free, because even if, as with this sock, there will be patterning on the top of the foot, it’s stockinette on the bottom and therefore takes less time to knit.

I am eager to reach that point on these socks, but before I can decrease, I have to increase and I’m not quite there yet.

After enjoying the last Rick Riordan imprint I read, Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky by Kwame Mbalia, I decided pick up another, Carlos Hernandez’s Sal and Gabi Break the Universe. This was highly recommended by my friend Rebs, and she rarely steers me wrong. It’s about two younger teens who attend an arts school. One of the two is an aspiring magician, who, after his mom dies, discovers he can perform real magic, and the other is a would-be journalist and lawyer. I’m still in early days, so am eager to find out how the story evolves after the author finishes introducing the characters and setting the scene.

Head over to As Kat Knits for what others are reading and crafting.

Michael Franti & Spearhead perform some of the most joyful, soul-affirming music out there. Plus, it’s got a great beat, so you’ll find yourself on your feet dancing along before you know it.

“How We Living” is off their new album, Work Hard & Be Nice.

This week at That Artsy Reader Girl, we’re invited to share our Top Ten Most Anticipated Releases from the Second Half of 2020:

1. Murder on Cold Street by Sherry Thomas (latest in my favorite series)
2. Jasper Fforde’s The Constant Rabbit (another standalone from my favorite author)
3. Troubled Blood, by Robert Galbraith (Yes, I know JKR has said some bigoted and truly hurtful things about trans people and I shouldn’t want to read any more in the Cormoran Strike series. But I do.)
4. Faith by Julie Murphy (She writes the best job writing working class YA)
5. Kind of a Big Deal by Meg Cabot Shannon Hale (The main character starts getting sucked into books — literally!)
6. A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik (Highly imaginative fantasy from a great world builder)
7. Matt Haig’s The Midnight Library (What if you could read the story of what happened if you’d made a different choice? What if there were a whole building filled with those stories?)
8. Dear Justyce by Nic Stone (The follow-up to her Dear Martin)
9. Brandy Colbert’s The Voting Booth
10. Vanessa Yu’s Magical Paris Tea Shop by Roselle Lim

How about you? What books are you looking forward to coming out over the next six months?