Dog days of August

Summertime, and the livin' is easy...
Fish are jumpin', and the cotton is high.
Your daddy is rich, and your mama good-lookin'
Hush little baby, don't you cry.

Sometimes I wish I could live in a George Gershwin song. Dave sent this picture of wise old "Lucy" sleeping off this strange summer of highs and lows. When John left the house this morning at 5:20, it was still dark, and the air that came through the crack in the bedroom window was cool and damp. We finally had a short stretch of pleasant August weather, although it's been below normal topping off at just 70 degrees. Now it looks like another rainy pattern will descend on Seattle and I'll be sorry to see it. Early wet weather knocks down the heavy dahlia plants at their peak, and they've never been more beautiful. See Nova playing under the big white ones in the blog photo above?

So the stores are full of school supplies and we haven't even started our long list of home improvement projects. Those of us dumb enough to pay attention have whiplash this week from watching the stock market. There have been much worse war tragedies in far-away places. And a brave and dear friend in Montana is fighting the return of a serious illness.

Closer to home with the trivial, my fancy washing machine is broken and the summer hotel is open for company comings and goings. I'm happy that Amanda and Nova are safely home in eastern Washington, but I sure miss that voice calling "Nana! Nana!" first thing in the morning. I haven't seen "Flo" for over a week, so I'm headed to the foothills today. A little horse time might put things in perspective. Followed by a Friday night steak dinner. The laundromat can wait.