I’ve got a three-day weekend, so I get to jam in some extra fun:

• Go to the beach on Monday.
• Check out the Indian music festival at the Kennedy Center’s outdoor arts space.
• Take some books back to the library.
• Finish the book I’m reading.
• Knit some more on my shawl, as well as a sock. I’d love to wrap up another two sections of the shawl and the last toe of the sock needed to complete the pair.
• Shop the Dog Days of Summer sidewalk sale in Shaw.
• Bake a blackberry cobbler.
• Root for the USA women’s basketball and volleyball teams in their gold round matches tomorrow.
• Watch the closing ceremony of the Olympics, perhaps while eating Japanese food again.
• Swim. We’re running out of pool days for the year!

This shot is blurry, but simply reflects my desire to grab a quick pic and then turn my flashlight back on to join the others in the modern concert alternative to lighters. It was a good Rock Creek Kings show, even if the first half was heard from across the ravine in the garden.

I’ve been doing a bit of online shopping recently. A new computer battery for my work laptop (it’s been bulging for a while and I thought I should deal with it before it catches on fire) and some new work clothes arrived, just as skyrocketing cases and mask mandates make me question if we’ll be back after Labor Day or not. (If/when we do return, we’ve got a three-month experimental period planned where we can decide if we want to be in-office all the time, fully remote, or hybrid. Right now I’ve said hybrid, but it all depends on a number of factors, like where our new office space is, if our dress code relaxes at all, or how much I hate being around people I can’t just tell to be quiet because I’m on a call.) Tonight I bought a new cell phone case off eBay, because my old one is disintegrating and has already allowed my phone screen to crack. A few new casual tees are also on their way to me. Really I should take myself to a store, but it just seems like such an effort.

Some of it is depression buying, albeit with a gift card. But I think some of it might be coming-out-of-depression buying — taking care of things I should have done months ago. I emptied cat boxes today — and moved them to sweep behind, which is also an encouraging trend. Heck, I’ve even already changed the calendar to August. We’ll see what tomorrow holds. (Besides the farmers market, lunch with friends, and a call with my folks, of course.)

I just realized I lost track of the days and missed a friend’s birthday today, which annoys me to no end. I’m not always great about staying in touch, but I do at least usually manage the bare minimum of a birthday text/voicemail.

So, tomorrow, I’ll be reaching out to him with a belated birthday greeting.

I’m hopeful that I’ll also be able to have supper with some D.C. friends.

I’ll be going to the farmers market and the library. Otherwise, the weather looks gorgeous, so I plan to spend lots of time outside in the garden, at the pool, and in the park reading and knitting and relaxing.

What do you have planned for the transition from July into August?

The last full weekend of July included a lot of sports viewing (thanks, Olympics!), knitting (thanks, Olympics!), and outdoor time (thanks, more temperate weather!).

There was homemade pizza, corn on the cob, and the aforementioned Japanese feast.

I supported enterprising boys with a local lemonade stand, nearby farmers, and the local cookie shop.

Time was spent at the pool, the garden, the library, and the park.

And I did some online shopping, spent time reading, and took an afternoon nap.

I was walking to Trader Joe’s to pick up some pizza dough just as the sun was setting. It was lovely:

It’s been a few months since I’ve written one of these posts, but here’s what’s going on around here right now:

Hearing: I turned the a/c off for a few minutes because it keeps giving us an error message. So I can hear the fan whirring in the bedroom and the low melody of Rudi’s music (although it’s too quiet for me to tell what song is playing).

Feeling: Warm. The tightness of a tension headache coming on. Tired. The softness of the cat as he bumped against my foot. (He’s curled up on my flip flops.)

Seeing: A pile of clean beach towels. (The washing machine got fixed today! Hooray!) A pile of dirty clothes that need to be washed. My organizer not quite closed. A cat who got up after I wrote that last bit and is now staring at me in the hopes that I will fill his empty bowl.

Tasting: Nothing right now, but in a minute, the minty burn of toothpaste.

Smelling: The new laundry detergent Rudi used.

Give us a sense of what it’s like where you are.